Fermented Cornbread

[framing fowl]

I am hoping that someone can help me out. I found this recipe for fermented cornbread. What sort of amount of meal would you start off with in the salt water do you think?

Boil your meal in salted water into a mush. Add a half cup of sugar, 3/4 cup lard, and enough dry meal to make a stiff batter. Cover and set aside for 2-4 days until it ferments. Cook in hot iron skillet.

Thanks!

 

[freemotion]

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This sounds verrrry interesting....no wheat flour in it, huh? Where did you find the recipe? Do you know how old it is or what ethnic group it originates from? That might help narrow down a search, as a quick one just yeilded far too many results. Although I am now guessing 3-4 cups total, maybe 3 cup boiled and one cup added? Totally guessing.

 

[ORChick]

Sounds like you might be starting out with a polenta like mush; I think I would start out with the amounts of meal and water for polenta. Referring then to a cornbread recipe, and estimating the sweetener based on the amount of cornmeal used.

 

[framing fowl]

The recipe came from a cookbook on the folklore and art of southern Appalachian cooking. The story came from John Parris that was printed in a column in the Asheville Citizen Times. Not sure of a date.

Do you have any other bread recipes that call for 1/2 cup of sugar. Maybe we could take that amount of flour as a guide?

 

[freemotion]

I was basing my four cup suggestion on the amount of lard. I looked at a standard cornbread recipe and also replaced the wheat flour with cornmeal, to come up with the four cups.

Hey, I just bought a grinder and have sacks of feed corn. It'll cost me like ten cents to try this. Give me a week.

 

[ORChick]

Free, congratulations on the new grinder! What kind did you get?

 

[framing fowl]

Thanks Free! Wow. I must have really been out of it this morning because I missed your entire sentence about the amounts.

Okay, next question is I read something this morning talking about grocery store cornmeal being rancid. Something about it sitting too long on the shelf and the germ getting bad? That's what I was going to use.

 

[ORChick]

I think most supermarket cornmeal is degerminated, which is why it can sit on the shelf for as long as I think it sometimes must. If you want "whole meal" corn meal you'll probably have to go to a health food store, or somewhere like Whole Foods. Or grind your own. But if you already have supermarket corn meal then check the label - degermnated probably won't be rancid, as the oil bearing germ isn't there.

 

[freemotion]

Free, congratulations on the new grinder! What kind did you get?

It is an "All-Grain Flour Mill." I got it on craigslist for $60!!! It is old but far from worn out. The new version retails for something like $625. I got it to save my pricy VitaMix, but on further research, this unit grinds cool so the flour will be much better than in my VitaMix, which grinds hot. And I can adjust it a bit, so I can make a course meal for my chicks, due to arrive in mid-September.

 

[freemotion]

I finally ground some corn today and will boil it up tomorrow to start the fermenting process. I'll keep you posted!