Is cornbread meant to have a 'gritty' texture??

pavlovs_dog

pavlovs_dog wrote:

and what is cornmeal and where would i find it

never mind, ive just googled.

why didnt you just call it polenta in the first place, are you TRYING to confuse me

BrandNewDay

We'd just call it corn meal in the states, rather than polenta.

Polenta and grits are different - grits are white, just the um, gritty part. The hominy. You cook them like oats and can eat them as a hot cereal. Or, let them congeal in the fridge, and then slice and fry it, rather like polenta.

I'd never heard of polenta, BTW, until I ate at a fancy restaurant. I tasted it and said, "Hey! This is Corn Mush!" "Polenta"= fancy side dish for latin recipes. "Corn Mush"= poor people's food.

larmy16

Here was the recipe I used and the comment.
"See for yourself how polenta can add a subtle grainy texture to a traditional white loaf"

This is for a breadmaker and you put in the ing. acc. to your breadmakers method.

Large Loaf

1 and 1/4 cup (285ml) warm water
25g soft butter
2tsp granulated sugar
2tsp salt
2 and 1/2 cups(400g) Strong white bread flour
1/2 cup(85g) instant polenta
1 and 1/4 tsp easy bake yeast.

This recipe comes from an Allinsons booklet so they advise their products!

Set to Basic for a white loaf.

otterspasm

Thanks everyone who has responded. Sorry its taken me so long to read your replies. I've been away for a few days and out of reach of a computer.

I loved the cornbread even with a gritty texture but I will try and get a finer grade polenta, if it's available, and will experiment. This is the recipe I used which i got from a website called 'cooking for engineers'!

1 cup cornmeal (polenta)
1 cup all purpose flour (I used self raising cos its what i had in the cupboard)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbs baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup veg oil
1 large egg

Mix together all of the dry ingredients and whisk together the wet ones. Then combine them all and pour mixture into a square baking dish. Cook at 400 degrees for 20 mins.

We had some left which I kept in the fridge overnight wrapped in foil. I then sprinkled a bit of water over it and put it in the oven the next day in tin foil to warm it through. It was great.

It was quick and easy to make and was lovely with a bowl of tvp chilli!

Thanks again!:D

pavlovs_dog

well tescos apparently dont sell polenta (i had to ask 3 members of staff before i found someone who had a vague idea of what it was :eek: :rotfl: )

will try asdas, but if that fails, any other ideas? i was hoping to make it tonight to go with a mexican casserole :think:

BrandNewDay

I found READY MADE polenta at Tesco last night. It's just polenta with water and salt added. I thought, well, I can try using this.

It did not work. I don't know if the polenta I used was to blame, or something else in the recipe.

Swan_2

pavlovs_dog wrote:

well tescos apparently dont sell polenta (i had to ask 3 members of staff before i found someone who had a vague idea of what it was :eek: :rotfl: )

will try asdas, but if that fails, any other ideas? i was hoping to make it tonight to go with a mexican casserole :think:

oops, clicked thanks instead of quote but have a thanks anyway, good way to start the day

I got some in Tesco, just went & had a look at the pack & it's called 'Fine Cornmeal', but it was in the Asian foods section
so it might be worth having another look if Tesco's more convenient for you to visit than Asda

Raffles_3

BrandNewDay wrote:

However, served warm from the oven with butter and honey? HEAVEN!!!
QUOTE]

Yes, that's the way I like it.

consumermonkey

Polenta can be difficult to get hold of. I found my first supply at Macro, then I have bought from Holland & Barratt, and more recently in a tesco extra, in a huge bag for next to nothing (it was in the ethnic section). hope this helps someone. I have had corn bread in the USA and it is usually smooth, like cake, but when I make it at home it is gritty too. Next batch I will try putting the dry polenta through a blender first to see if that makes it less gritty.

Swan_2

consumermonkey wrote:

Polenta can be difficult to get hold of. I found my first supply at Macro, then I have bought from Holland & Barratt, and more recently in a tesco extra, in a huge bag for next to nothing (it was in the ethnic section). hope this helps someone. I have had corn bread in the USA and it is usually smooth, like cake, but when I make it at home it is gritty too. Next batch I will try putting the dry polenta through a blender first to see if that makes it less gritty.

I'm wondering if the cornmeal you got in Tesco is the same as the stuff I mentioned buying there in my earlier post, Natco Fine Cornmeal?
if so, have you tried it out? does it make gritty cornbread?
I've been using in bread & to dust pizzas, & was thinking of giving the cornbread a go, but don't want to go to the bother of having to grind it first

lazy me