anunrefinedvegan

When I make chili, I almost always make cornbread – me and everyone else, right?  I love the taste of “pure” cornbread (made nearly wholly with cornmeal) except I have a little problem with it: it makes me choke.  Maybe that’s why traditionally it’s served with butter and honey?  My solution was to create a cornbread with a preponderance of wheat flour.  It eliminates the choking feeling, yet retains enough corn flavor to pair up perfectly with a spicy vegetable chili.

Whole Wheat Cornbread
Makes 8 generous pieces

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup fine ground cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. egg replacer + 6 tbsp. water (whisk together until frothy, then let sit for a minute)
1/4 cup prune puree
1/4 cup maple sugar
1 cup buttermilk (1 tbsp. lemon juice stirred into 1 cup soy milk; let stand for a few minutes)

Preheat oven to 400F and lightly spray a 9″ x 9″ pan with cooking oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg replacer/water, prune puree, maple sugar and buttermilk.  Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Spread the batter into the baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  The top should be a nice crusty, golden brown.

(I based my recipe on one from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics.  Everything dairy-related got the kibosh and I used prune puree – surprisingly effective here – instead of oil; maple sugar stands in for brown sugar.)