cornbread - first try - crack problem??!!!

Yours looks a bit more pronounced than most I've seen.  The bread pictured in the video also had cracks, you'll notice.  Did you have to double the recipe to fill your baking pan?  If so, that may have given you an opportunity for an error in measuring the ingredients.  Too much baking powder, perhaps?

I'm more curious about the cause for the band of bubbles that run the full width of the bread at mid-height.  That isn't something that I am accustomed to seeing in cornbread.

How did the consistency of your batter compare to the batter in the video (which seemed rather stiff, to me)?

Paul

most controversial breads out there, since there are almost as many different "right" versions as there are people!

Honestly, as a quick bread (leavened with baking soda / baking powder), the only real "rules" are that you should be very careful to NOT over-mix it (all the dry ingredients should be wet, but lumps are fine) since that will make the crumb and texture more tough and rubbery, and the the outside is very likely to rise and have cracks (this is not supposed to have the nice even top surface of a cake --- it should have more of a bread-like rise, including cracks). 

Personally, I like working with this base: http://www.joyofbaking.com/CornbreadRecipe.html

I often use a baking pan pre-heated with the butter (for the crunchy crust), or will use a cast-iron or stainless steel skillet, and I will vary the milk / buttermilk, and add or not add different sweeteners (I tend towards maple syrup or honey if I do add), and often cooked corn or bits of cheese or vegetables - all depending on my mood and what I'm serving it with.  My technique for making sure that I do not over-mix is to put the well mixed wet ingredients in to a "well" in the middle of my well-mixed dry ingredients, and then to do no more than 20 gentle folds while giving the bowl a quarter turn each time.  It has always worked well for all of my quick-breads.

In your bake, I would guess that the rather odd row of bubbles / holes in the crumb and density of the rest of the texture is from you over mixing it.  The cracking is fine, as I said, but you'll need to pre-heat the pan with some butter in it and then add the mixed batter to the hot pan in order to get the more crispy sides.

I hope this helps!

One author called this subject (corn bread) the "3rd rail" of a discussion on southern cooking. Most modern recipes are described as "Yankee" style by southerners. I found info on Yankee and Traditional. Have fun!

I always used the recipe right on the back of the Quaker brand Corn Meal Box. The box recipe uses 1 1/4 c all purpose flour and 3/4 c corn meal. This the opposite of what was in the video. Also, I stir briefly- just until moistened. Overmixing toughens the cornbread as the gluten is formed. Using cake flour would work,too.

Quaker Easy Cornbread

1/1/4 c AP flour

3/4 c Corn meal

1/4 c sugar (I use brown sugar for moistness)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt (optional)

1 c skim milk

1/4 c veg. oil (I have used melted butter)

2 egg whites or 1 egg beaten

Grease 8-9 inch pan

Combine dry ingredients.

Stir in wet ingredients until just moistened. Pour into greased pan

Bake 20-25 min at 400F or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

9 servings

However......here is a site that talks about original, old-timey southern cornbread-no sugar, needs heirloom grits to succeed and real buttermilk..

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/11/southern-unsweetened-cornbread-recipe.html

This next link is for an unsweetened but a little more modern recipe. Still no sugar.

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/southern_cornbread/

I have had original cornbread and I make "Yankee" cornbread. I like the Yankee variety but it is more dessert than bread.

I just had to enter the fray with my recipe for southern cornbread.Corn Bread

See recipe for Cornmeal Pancakes or recipe for Cornpone (double this one).  Leftover batter may be refrigerated for as long as a day.  Preheat oven to 400°F.  For best results, use a cast iron skillet.  Place the skillet in the preheated oven for five minutes.  Add about two tablespoons of bacon fat (vegetable oil can be used) to the hot skillet and tilt the pan to grease the sides and bottom.  Pour the batter into the hot greased skillet then place it into the preheated oven.  Bake at 400°F for about 30 - 45 minutes or until firm and brown on top.  An instant reading thermometer inserted to the center should read 200°F.  If a glass or lightweight baking dish is used, do not preheat the dish in the oven.  However, be sure the dish is well greased before adding the batter. 

2 extra large eggs (4.0 oz, 112 g) (or jumbo size, 4.4 oz., 126 g), separated and at room temperature

1/4 tspn. cream of tartar

1 Tbs. (0.9 oz., 24 g) sugar

1/3 cup (2.7 oz., 77 g)) vegetable oil (or melted bacon fat)

1 tspn. (0.2oz., 5 g)  salt

2 tspn. (0.25 oz., 8 g) double acting baking powder

1/2 tspn. baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

1 1/2 cup (7.5 oz., 212 g) white corn meal

1/2 cup (2 oz. 57 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups (17.2 oz., 488 g) buttermilk

(1/4 tspn. mace – gives a distinctive flavor)

Place the room temperature egg whites in a clean stainless steel, or copper, or glass, or glazed pottery bowl (not plastic).  Add the cream of tartar and the sugar.  Whip the egg whites until firm peaks will form.  A wire whisk is best for this.  (If grease or egg yolk is present the whites will not whip easily.  The possible presence of grease is the reason for not using plastic for whipping egg whites)

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are a light yellow color.  Gradually beat in the oil until homogeneous mixture results.  Stir in the baking powder, salt, baking soda, and, if you wish, mace.  Add the corn meal, the flour, and the buttermilk, then beat until smooth.  Fold in the beaten egg whites.  Do not over mix.  Let the batter stand at room temperature for about one hour or longer.

Bake as griddle cakes on a hot griddle, turning only once when the bubbles appear on the surface.  Serve piping hot with melted, real butter and hot, real maple syrup.

Leftover batter may be poured into a greased baking dish, refrigerated for as long as a day, and baked at 400°F for about 30 - 45 minutes or until firm and brown on top.  May also be baked as cornpone.

This recipe was inspired by the corn cakes my Grandfather Thompson made when I (Ford) was a child.  It has gone through many metamorphoses since I first tried to recreate the result.  My brother, Tommy, says that Granddad would laugh at all the steps in this one.  I am sure he would, but this is NOT his recipe.  I will say that his were thinner; these are lighter.

1 extra large egg (or jumbo size)

1/4 tspn. cream of tartar

3 Tbs. (1.5 oz., 43 g) melted bacon fat (or vegetable oil)

1/2 tspn. salt

1 tspn. double acting baking powder

1/2 tspn. baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

3/4 cup (3.2 oz., 106 g) white corn meal

1/4 cup (1 oz., 29b g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup (8.6 oz., 244 g) buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg with a wire whisk or electric beater, and slowly add the melted bacon fat.  Beat in the cream of tarter, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Add cornmeal, flour, and buttermilk and stir until all is smooth.  Let the batter stand for an hour to let the cornmeal absorb the liquid.

Grease well the cast iron corn pone pans with bacon fat (or vegetable oil) and place them in the preheated oven for about 4 – 5 minutes.  Fill the corn stick depressions to about two-thirds full.  The recipe makes about 15 – 16 sticks.  Immediately place the pans in the 400°F oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the sticks are brown and firm to the touch.  Immediately remove the sticks form the pan and serve piping hot for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack.  They are also good at room temperature.

This same recipe may be doubled and used for Corn Bread (See above.)

Ford

That looks an awful lot like the cracks and voids that you sometimes get with 100% rye bread. So maybe the solution is the same - put the batter in the pan, smooth the top then poke it all over with a toothpick (called 'docking') before baking. This will release the gas that is built up under the crust which causes the cracks and voids (maybe, anyway!). Worth a try...

Big change! As regards to crust-I always bake my cornbead in an iron frying pan to get that crust. Glass/corningware won't come through for crust.

my preference is to have a bit of sugar in my cornbread.  In fairness to Ford, his cornpone recipe is classically Southern (despite my ribbing), so I suggest you use his recipe.  It is far more authentic than anything I might suggest.  

Your most recent attempt looks lovely. 

Paul

Because the batter is so wet, you don't get a fired dough crunch but rather a rim around the edge that can be a bit crunchy  and perhaps a bit more bite/crunch where it was in contact with the iron. This is only the outer 1/8-1/4 inch around the rim.  The center and top are always more cakey/crumbly/muffin (depending on the oil and egg content).

If you want really crunchy cornbread, you need to get a cornpone pan. Grease it well!

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/sr1vp59z/rhode-island-johnny-cakes.html

Delicious but not crunchy.

The material of the pan makes the difference in crunchiness. Cast iron holds the heat and makes the crust.

Fry the johnny cakes in oil for a nice crisp without an iron pan.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00063RX60/ref=asc_df_B00063RX605152502/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B00063RX60&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198087151093&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13488244534508195647&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9019611&hvtargid=pla-350465815408

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TfcJ82FAhw

That looks like a muffin top pan! Cast iron? Where did you get that?

The muffins look wonderful! The texture is probably crumbly when you break them in half with a slight cake texture when fresh. Remember, corn has NO gluten so it depends on the recipe. If you look at the recipe I provided above, I use AP flour so my muffins are more cake-like and less crumbly.

Great job! Persistence and experimentation!