Chili Cheese Cornbread

Can I repeat the same picture from last post to say how sorry I am? I don't think so. And sorry means that you won't repeat the mistake. I have been repeating the same mistake again and again. So until I fix it on my side, I wouldn't say anything. Hopefully, all of you are good and eating well.
I have been having a lot of fun and friends, work, people, relationship, and life in general have kept me busy.

Cooking is something which relaxes me every day. In my always moving life, cooking is something that stays on my side. I went to Kerala for my birthday. I went home for Diwali. I also visited Chennai very recently and friends have been visiting throughout. Food is always an integral part of all my trips. These days I have a good balance of outside food and home cooked food.

I am posting a chili cheese cornbread today. As you all know, breads are my favorite. Also, Jamie Oliver is my favorite. And this is one of his creation. I follow him on Instagram and I could not take this bread out of my mind, even when it was out of my sight. One amazing thing about this bread is that it is baked with baking powder and not yeast. So, there is no kneading effort required. There are no yeast nightmares. The combination of maize flour, caramelized onions, crunchy corn, chili, and cheese works amazingly well. The bread will be crunchy from outside and really spongy and soft from inside. Obviously, let's not talk about the aroma that fills the house when the bread is being baked. It is something that you need to experience on your own.

I had it with salad and oh my god!

Let me get started with the recipe. I have drooled enough.

Chili Cheese Cornbread
Adapted From:  Chili Cheese Cornbread

Ingredients:

1. 320 g Maize flour/cornmeal - Basically the granular yellow maize flour and not the white powdered corn flour
2. 250 ml full fat milk
3. 100 g grated mozzarella (original recipe calls for 140 g grated cheddar, mozzarella worked wonders)
4. 2 thinly sliced onions
5. 2 corn cob
6. 1 tsp baking powder
7. 6 tbsp flour
8. 3 green chilies - remove the seeds and fine chop
9. 4 large whole eggs, beaten ( I used 5, as the eggs were small)
10. freshly ground black pepper
11. freshly ground Italian seasoning - optional
12. some butter
13. salt to taste
14. olive oil, for greasing

Steps:

1. Heat a pan, add the onion to it and let them caramelize.
2. While the onion is caramelizing, take out the corn kernels from the cob. To do this, hold the corn upright down on the plate, and run a knife from top to bottom. When the onion is caramelized, add the corn kernels to the pan. Let them cook for five minutes. Take the pan off heat.
3. Preheat the oven at 200 degree Celsius.
4. Add the beaten eggs to a bowl. Add the maize flour, flour, salt, baking powder, a large portion of the cheese, cooled down onion & corn mixture, green chilies, and the milk to the eggs.
5. Mix the mixture properly and season with salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning.
6. Prepare a baking tin of size 22 cm or two smaller ones by greasing them with olive oil and covering them with parchment paper.
7. Pour the mixture into the baking tins, and bake for about 35 minutes.
8. After 25/30 minutes, take out the baking tins and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on the top.
9. Let the bread cool down for 15 minutes or so.
10. Serve hot with soup, salad or whatever you wish.

This bread was amazing. All the ingredients were like made for each other.It is one of the easiest breads to make.

Go ahead and bake :)

Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia

Yes, I accept. I am on a bread expedition. No, I am not mad. :)

I have made Masala Focaccia and then The Perfect White Loaf. How can I not make another focaccia when the previous one turned out so well! Believe me its not just Mar*****a, bread baking also is addictive (all pun intended).

I always turn to Jamie Oliver if I have to find any full proof recipe. Oh, how much I love him! His food is wholesome, simple and gives warmth. He is trying to do a good deed. He wants people, specially young generation, to eat good and healthy food. He has taken up so many initiatives to achieve that. He has been to schools and colleges just to educate people that a school lunch could be a lot more healthy and nutritious. He has taught the people of UK to prepare their own meals (initiatives like 15 minute meals) and have taught them about healthy food. Another such initiative is a two level course designed specially for students to learn cooking and eat healthy. This recipe is from this course. I wish him good luck and hope he achieves what he is aiming. I share similar views. I feel that if we cook food at home more frequently, we will be having much more healthy meals. I want to encourage all my friends to start cooking at home and start eating a lot more healthy. Cooking and eating at home also brings families together.

Bread making process is a symphony for me. It is a therapeutic and a satisfying process such as writing and poetry. I am myself when I write. I am myself when I am making bread. It brings easiness and comfort to my life. Each creation is close to my heart. Okay, let me not get too poetic. I have another blog for poetry and writing so you guys are safe. :)

So tell me! What's better than fresh home made focaccia drizzled with olive oil? Don't think so much. Nothing. :)

Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia
Adapted from Jamie Oliver Course

Ingredients:
1. 500 g all purpose flour + extra for dusting
2. 312 ml water (water should neither be too hot nor cold, I warm up the water in microwave oven for about 25-30 seconds)
3. 3 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
4. 1 tbsp sugar
5. 1 tbsp salt + extra to sprinkle
6. 1/4 to 1/2 tsp black pepper (as per your taste)
7. 7-8 garlic cloves
8. 1 tsp dry rosemary
9. olive oil for greasing and drizzling

Proofing

As always start with proofing the yeast. Meanwhile you can measure out your ingredients. Proofing means activating the yeast so that it can eat upon carbohydrates and release carbon dioxide which will puff up your bread. To proof the yeast, mix the sugar in about 100 ml water. Sugar is the food for yeast. Now dissolve the yeast in the water by mixing it with a spoon. When it seems to have dissolved or have formed a semi solid paste, keep it aside for 5-10 minutes. If the top of the yeast has foam or bubbly layer, it has activated and is ready to use. If there are no bubbles, keep it for a few more minutes.

Mixing the Ingredients

Now sieve the flour and flour together. Make a well with the flour. Pour half of the water in the well. Now using a fork or your hands bring the flour from the walls of the well inside. It will start to form a spongy mixture. Now add the remaining half of the water in the well and mix well. The dough would have formed a sticky ball by now. You are ready to knead the dough.

Kneading

Flour the work surface and start kneading the dough. I have explained the importance and details of the kneading process in my previous post, The Perfect White Loaf. Kindly refer to that. I kneaded the dough for about 10 minutes and then took the window pane test. It was perfect.

The First Rise

Grease a bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it. Cover it with a damp tea towel and keep somewhere warm to rise. I kept it inside my oven. Let it rest for about an hour or till the dough gets double in size.

The Herb Seasoning

This step is basically preparing the garlic and rosemary that will go on top of your bread. Punch down the garlic cloves with the back of a knife or anything heavy. Now drizzle olive oil on the garlic and rosemary and sprinkle some salt and pepper to season them. Crush the garlic and rosemary together using your hand so that they blend into each others flavor.

Punching


Check if the dough has doubles in size. If yes, it is ready to be punched. Punching the dough will remove the big air holes and will give yeast fresh flour to feed upon. It will add to the texture and flavor of the bread. Punch the dough to push out the air. Knead the dough again for 3-4 minutes.

The Second Rise

Grease a 9x7 inch tin in which you plan to bake the bread. Place the dough in it and using your hands pull out the dough to cover the corners and sides of the pan. Spread the cloves and rosemary on the dough and push them in using your fingers. Poke the bread with your wet fingers to give the bread a simply authentic focaccia texture. Drizzle olive oil on the top of the bread. Remember that a good focaccia has a good amount of olive oil in it. Keep the dough covered with a damp tea towel again for its second rise. Let it rest for about an hour or till it doubles in size.

Baking

Preheat your oven to 220 degree Celsius. If you feel the bread has lost the dimply texture because of rising, poke it with wet fingers again. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the top of it.
Keep it inside the oven for 15-20 minutes or untill it gets a golden crunchy top. It took about 15 minutes for the bread to cook. To check if it is cooked you can also tap the bottom of the bread and see if it sounds hollow.

Cooling and Slicing

After taking the pan out of the oven, take the bread out of the pan immediately so that it does not get soggy. Place it on the steel grill that comes with the oven. If you keep the bottom on a plate or any other surface which does not let air pass through, it will get soggy. Cut the bread in any shape of your liking. I cut it in long slices and had it with olive oil.

The bread was soft and light on the inside and crunchy on the outside.  It had the smoky flavor of garlic and the rosemary was working well with it. This recipe is definitely a keeper. You can replace the garlic and rosemary with herbs of your choice. You can eat it with butter, mayonnaise or any cheese dip. I just love to have it simply with olive oil.

So enjoy baking the bread and then eating it. Hope to bring some more delicious recipes to you.

Submitted for YeastSpotting