Old Fashioned Gluten-Free Cornbread

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We are counting the days. Thanksgiving, the meal we’ve all been waiting for, is a mere week away. This is the Super Bowl of cooking. A triathlon of shopping, cooking and eating. Days and weeks of planning and prepping, and lots of hard work, will all converge into one big meal of epic proportions. And it’s almost here.  

Make those lists and check them twice. I have managed to run out of butter, aluminum foil and even casserole dishes. Last year, I bought a few more pie plates, just in case. Buy more food than you think you’ll need, because you know what? You’ll need it. Worst case scenario, you have leftovers, and isn’t that what everyone is hoping for in the first place? 

As for those leftovers, tell your guests to bring their own take home containers. Besides being good for the environment, there’s no dishes to return. Once the meal is over, let them have a second pass through the food line to pack up what they want. Enlist a helper to put away the rest, spooned into resealable bags, labeled and ready to go into the freezer. Once you’re done with them, in the next few days, any that remain can be quickly frozen.  

Holidays are a melange of memories. I can see my dad, holding the hand of our youngest son, making the mashed potatoes. And my mom, making pie after pie, well into the night on Thanksgiving Eve. I can see my grandmother, carefully draped in a large shirt turned backwards, making the gravy with last-minute care, so as not to splash and stain her holiday dress. I can see my two grandfathers sleeping off the feast on the sofa. And I see my oldest son, coming home and bringing the most gorgeous flowers from the Pike Place Market for the table. My brother told me once that his favorite moment of the year is looking around the table and seeing his family, and the light in everyone’s eyes, as we gather around that table groaning with food. “I look forward to that meal all year,” he said. And all of this warms my heart. 

I have learned through the years that no one wants new. What they want most is the Thanksgiving they have always had, filled with the same stuffing, mashed potatoes and all the trimmings they remember. If I dare to try a new dish, it’s a side. Or I have to make it in addition to the dish that they are expecting, like the year I made two stuffings because there would be a mutiny if God forbid I tried to enhance bread cubes, celery and onion with kale, raisins and a little Italian sausage. No one wants it, so why bother? What people want most of all is to be together. Yes, the food is important, but it’s the people around your table that matter more.  

As long as I can remember, I start every Thanksgiving morning by dicing celery and onion. By the time the Macy’s parade starts, I am warming butter, tossing in the diced vegetables, and happily stirring, while the beginnings of the dressing grow ever more aromatic on the stove. There is something about this process that just makes it feel like Thanksgiving. It’s the start of the holiday and it couldn’t be more exciting. 

If you are cooking or baking for others this holiday, remember to check for food allergies and other dietary restrictions. Besides being gluten-free, this Old Fashioned Gluten-Free Cornbread can be made plant-based, dairy-free, or egg-free. It’s easy to make and is naturally gluten-free because it uses all cornmeal and no other flours. You can use it to make muffins, or make it a few days ahead and use it for stuffing.  It is moist, sweet and has a dense crumb that reminded me of what cornbread used to be like before I had to switch to gluten-free. 

You can replace half of the cornmeal (by weight) with an equal amount (by weight) of corn flour, or with an all purpose gluten-free flour, but I found the texture and crumb to be perfect using only cornmeal. For plant-based or egg allergies, you can adjust this recipe by using a chia egg: 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds, plus 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel. To make this dairy-free, use Earth Balance buttery stick in place of unsalted butter (but reduce the salt by half) and dairy-free plain yogurt in place of the yogurt. You can also try a mix of half plain dairy-free yogurt and half unsweetened almond milk milk as a buttermilk replacement. 

Mix all of your ingredients together, but don’t over mix. Your batter should be a little lumpy. And let your batter rest a little before baking so the cornmeal can hydrate and tenderize. Once everything is mixed, pour it into your skillet, and then let it sit while the oven preheats. This results in a more tender, cakey bread with a slightly gritty texture.

I love my cast iron skillet for cornbread and if you plan to go this route, too, check your cornbread at 20 minutes. Because cast iron retains heat very well, it bakes faster, and your cornbread will most likely be done a little sooner. Let your cornbread sit again for 10 to 30 minutes before cutting and serving. 

Spoiler alert – because of work schedules, we have already had our Thanksgiving. We cooked and did dishes, and ate, and ate some more. We had pies and leftovers, and we were all together. It was wonderful. 

Eat your heart out. It’s the spirit of Thanksgiving. And do be sure to enjoy every moment of this most wonderful time of the year. 

Old Fashioned Gluten-Free Cornbread

• 2 cups (264 grams) coarsely ground yellow cornmeal 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups (340 grams) plain yogurt at room temperature (can substitute an equal amount of buttermilk or half sour cream/half milk)
• 4 Tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 (50 gram, weighted out of shell) egg at room temperature, beaten
• 4 Tablespoons (84 grams) honey

Grease an 8-inch square baking pan or 9-inch cast iron skillet with unsalted butter and set it aside. Add cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the yogurt, buttermilk, egg, and honey, and mix to combine well. 

Pour mixture into prepared pan and let sit. Preheat oven to 375º F, then place pan in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cornbread is firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let sit 10 to 30 minutes, then slice and serve warm. 

-adapted from glutenfreeonashoestring.com