The Cornbread Gospels (36 page)

S
ERVES
2

My friend Lynn Larson makes neat, small pancakes that are crisped around the edges. They are made without eggs, without sweetener, and with just a touch of flour: mostly the time-honored cornmeal-buttermilk combo takes center stage. Since most children tend to view pancakes as essentially sponge-like carriers for as much syrup as possible, it is worth noting that Lynn says, “My kids loved these with just a bit of butter, or plain: no syrup or jelly.”

⅔ cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons unbleached white flour

2 tablespoons butter, cold, cut into small pieces

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1 cup buttermilk

1.
Combine the cornmeal, salt, baking soda, and flour in a medium bowl. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut in the butter.

2.
Spray a heavy cast-iron skillet with oil and place it over medium heat. Give it a few minutes to heat. When it’s fairly hot, quickly add the buttermilk to the dry mixture, stirring just long enough to combine everything and no longer.

3.
By now the skillet should be good and hot. Pour the batter onto the hot skillet in small spoonfuls; you want cakes between 2 and 3 inches in diameter, no larger. The batter should sizzle a bit when it hits the pan. Let the cakes cook for 50 to 70 seconds on one side (test one to see if it’s browned nicely), then turn once. The second side will be quicker.

4.
Serve, hot from the griddle, plain or with your favorite accompaniments.

S
ERVES
4
TO
6

A version of this unusually appealing pancake recipe was sent to me by a reader from Birmingham, Alabama. I’ve adapted it slightly, keeping, however, the presoftened meal that is its secret. Try these with sorghum or molasses and plenty of butter and a sautéed patty of your favorite sausage or soysage for a substantial breakfast.

About 1¼ cups water or milk

½ cup stone-ground white cornmeal

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup unbleached white flour

1¼ teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1.
Place 1¼ cups of water or milk in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, place the cornmeal and salt in a heat-proof bowl. When the liquid has come to a boil, pour it over the meal and salt, whisking well. Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes.

2.
Combine the flour and baking powder, and sift them over the soaked mixture. Stir a few times, then stir in the egg. Beat well. If the batter seems too thick, add a few more tablespoons water or milk, which need not be heated this go-round.

3.
Spray a good heavy cast-iron skillet with oil and place it over medium-high heat for a few minutes. When the pan’s good and hot, lower the heat to medium and begin dropping the batter by tablespoonfuls into it (it should sizzle a bit when it hits the pan). Wait until you know the underside is cooked before flipping: You’ll see the air bubbles on the top side form, then burst, then start to look dryish; that is the moment when you know they’re ready to flip, about 3 minutes. Turn them, cooking the other side slightly more briefly. Serve, hot from the griddle.

S
ERVES
4

I first knew the Tolers as guests at Dairy Hollow House, the inn my late husband, Ned, and I owned and ran for eighteen years. Later, when they moved to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, where we and the inn were, they became neighbors: active participants at almost every cultural event, quietly sassy, well-read, thoughtful, smart, kind—altogether their own persons, always up to something interesting.

Perhaps one secret of their zest is that the Tolers are powered by delicious and healthful dishes like these pancakes, which they serve with maple syrup, bananas, strawberries, and pecans.

¾ cup stone-ground cornmeal

¼ cup stone-ground whole wheat flour

¼ cup toasted wheat germ

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 egg

1¼ cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil

Vegetable oil cooking spray (optional)

Optional accompaniments: butter, pure maple syrup, sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, and/or chopped toasted pecans

1.
Combine the cornmeal, flour, wheat germ, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

2.
Separately, in a smaller bowl, beat the egg, then stir in the buttermilk. Add the oil.

3.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and whisk quickly to blend the ingredients thoroughly. Do not overbeat.

4.
Heat a skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. If it is nonstick, as the Tolers prefer, you need not spray it with oil; if it is conventional, give it a thorough spray. When the skillet is good and hot, lower the heat slightly to medium and spoon the batter onto it, using about 2 tablespoons of batter per pancake. If the skillet is hot enough, the pancake batter will sizzle slightly as it makes contact with the pan surface.

5.
Let the pancakes cook until bubbles that remain intact appear around the edges, 70 to 80 seconds. Flip the pancakes and cook the second side for about 50 seconds. Serve, hot, from the griddle, with any or all of the accompaniments.

M
AKES ABOUT
4
QUARTS, OR EIGHT
1-
CUP BATCHES WHEN RECONSTITUTED, EACH BATCH SERVING
2
TO
4
PEOPLE

This is a very lovable recipe. I know: Pancake batters are easily made from scratch,
and
there are countless pancake mixtures of every description out there. But I guarantee you there’s no mix either this delicious or this healthy on the market. The griddle cakes and waffles it makes are both tender and pleasingly textured, full of delightful grainy flavors yet not at all health-foody. The slightly sweet batter has the mildest possible tang of buttermilk (in powdered form: you’ll find it in either the baking section of the supermarket, or next to the other dried milks), and it contains the hearty goodness of four whole grains, including cornmeal. But it’s the toasted sesame seeds that take it over the top.

If you are a gifts-from-the-kitchen type of person, divide the finished mix into zip-top bags or 1-pint Mason jars; print out a copy of the recipe for reconstituting the mix; line a pretty gift bag with tissue paper; throw in the recipe, a container of the mix, a bottle of pure maple syrup (or perhaps a jar of homemade preserves), and a small bottle of sesame oil; and give it to a friend. But don’t give too much away, because you and your family are going to love this.

Important:
Because of the toasted sesame seeds, this mix really keeps best when frozen or refrigerated. (Be sure to note this on any bags or containers you may give as gifts.)

1 cup hulled sesame seeds (available at natural foods markets)

1 cup oatmeal (rolled oats)

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2¾ cups unbleached white flour

1½ cups buckwheat flour

2¾ cups stone-ground yellow or white cornmeal

1 cup raw or unrefined sugar (see Pantry,
page 356
)

1 container (12 ounces) buttermilk powder

5 tablespoons baking powder

2 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons salt

1.
Toast the sesame seeds: Place them in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Stir constantly until the sesame seeds
become fragrant and start to brown, about 4 minutes; don’t turn your back for a second. Then immediately remove them from the stove. Turn them into a bowl and let them cool slightly.

2.
Buzz the oatmeal in a food processor until it is powdery. Add the sesame seeds and pulse them with the oatmeal to grind them somewhat: The mixture should be mostly powdery with a few whole seeds here and there (don’t overgrind, or you’ll end up releasing too much oil).

3.
Transfer the sesame-oatmeal mixture to a large bowl. Add all the flours, the cornmeal, sugar, and buttermilk powder. Stir together very thoroughly.

4.
Sift the baking powder, baking soda, and salt a little at a time over the flour mixture, stopping periodically to stir. You want to make sure the salt and leavenings are thoroughly and evenly mixed into the whole.