I’m still experimenting with Sue Gregg’s Blender Baking Method (click to see the previous post where I discussed my first attempts).
I have narrowed down the source of the bitter taste I got when using the Blender Baking Method. Vinegar (souring the almond milk) reacts with the baking soda to create a soapy-bitter taste. However, even after eliminating baking soda, the baked goods still yield a bitter taste. There’s another culprit reacting with the vinegar: gluten-free baking powder from Ener-G Foods. I’m not sure which ingredient in the baking powder is reacting with the vinegar, but one of them is.
So in my weekend cornbreads that were semi-successful, my solution was to eliminate both vinegar and baking soda but keep using the baking powder.
Over the weekend, I tried two times to make cornbread, using allergy-free variations of Sue’s recipes. The batch pictured here (100% corn flour) was the prettiest, but its texture was too cakey and not hearty enough for most of the family. Still, we liked it. In fact, I loved it. The other batch (3/4 corn flour, 1/2 buckwheat flour) was heartier, but didn’t rise as well or keep as well, yet most of the family preferred it. Jeff is still looking for that “perfect” cornbread (he loves cornbread).
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Hi Wardeh,
Cornbread….this is very popular in our home too! I have altered the Moosewood Cookbook’s recipe for cornbread to fit our allergy needs and everyone LOVES it! I don’t have it in front of me but I believe I use, applesauce for the eggs, 1 cup of cornflour/cornmeal and 1 cup of brown rice flour, I substitute hazelnut milk for the buttermilk and earth balance for the butter. I used to use a bit of lemon juice in the hazelnut milk to sub for the buttermilk but don’t anymore since we found it works fine without it. The recipe is in the original Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen. If you need the entire recipe let me know and I will send it along. As a special treat – I sometimes add grain sweetened chocolate chips to a section of the cornbread (the kids love this for dessert).
Hope you are well and that this cornbread works for you!
Love,
Cammie
Thanks, Cammie! No I don’t need the recipe. I love your idea to add the choc chips to one section.
However, did you know that grain-sweetened choc chips are sweetened with barley, a gluten-grain? Or are you not worried about it since in order to get the barley malt, the barley would have been sprouted? I don’t know for sure this is how they get the malt, just that is the homemade way to get barley malt.
Love, Wardeh
Dear Wardeh,
Have you looked at the cornbread recipe in “The Self-Healing Cookbook” by Kristina Turner? I think it’s a very different approach from the usual, but I’ve found it very satisfying. It includes cooked millet and sesame oil, it’s a bit sweet and very cornbready, though on the heavy side, not light and fluffy. It does call for a little bit of wheat or barley flour, so you’d still need to experiment. If you can’t get a hold of the book, (which I recommend), I can send you the recipe. I’d prefer to send it to you by email because I’m unsure about copyright issues.
Best wishes,
Selvi
Selvi,
I don’t and my library doesn’t have that book. I would love it if you would email me the recipe. It sounds wonderful and since I’m successfully using sprouted grains without reaction from my gluten-intolerant crowd, I will be able to use some sprouted spelt or kamut in place of the wheat/barley flour. I’ll email you to give you my email address. Thank you!
Love, wardeh
I’ve been wondering about the bitter taste in my cornbread too. I was googling for suggestions when I saw your website, as well as this one:
http://users.rcn.com/sue.interport/food/bakgsoda.html
It seems that both baking soda and baking powder are likely to taste bitter if you have too little acid, since then there will be some unreacted baking soda/powder left behind.
So perhaps when you soak the grains, the acid gets soaked up and there’s not enough left for the leavening agent the next day.
As for me, my cornbread batter is usually pretty thick — perhaps I’m not putting in enough acid (or it’s not runny enough for all the baking powder to contact the acid). Hmmm, I should try a new batch…
Good luck!