Masa Harina Cornbread

This recipe came to my rescue when I wanted to make cornbread and did not have cornmeal in my cupboard but had masa harina; a finer texture which resulted in a very tender and corn forward flavor. I tweaked the recipe to be gluten free and replaced the sugar with a little maple syrup. Using a cast iron pan or or enameled cast iron oval gratin baker coated with a little butter adds a beautiful crispiness to the edges. Simple, easy and absolutely delicious. Served the bread with a lamb chili…Amazing!

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
3/4 cups gluten free flour
1 1/4 cup masa harina
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp fine salt
1 tbsp coarse salt to coat before baking

Brush cast iron pan/enameled cast iron oval gratin baker with a little butter and warm in oven for a few minutes.
Whisk together the flour, masa harina, baking powder and fine salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, milk and egg until smooth.
Blend liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until combined (it is ok to have some lumps in the batter)
Scrape the batter into the warm prepared pan and smooth the top.
Sprinkle the coarse salt around the top.
Place the pan I the oven and bake until golden brown at the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 35 minutes
Remove pan from oven and let cool for 10 minutes on a rack.
Serve directly from the pan or invert the cornbread on a platter. I like to drizzle a little honey on each slice.

Chili recipe coming Wednesday…

Bon Appétit