Cooking-Breads

Breads

Cornmeal is an important part of the African American diet. There are many ways to use cornmeal. You can fry it to make fritters, or you can bake it to make cornbread. You can even make corn sticks and corm muffins using cornmeal.

Cornbread

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tablespoons oil

Grease a 9-inch pan with oil. Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Pour mixture into the pan and bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 18 minutes.

Westridge Young Writers Workshop, Kids Explore American's African American Heritage. New Mexico: John Muir Publications, 1996.

Corn Pone

1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk (or use water)
2 teaspoons baking powder

Heat skillet, add 1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil until hot enough that a drop of batter bubbles immediately. Mix flour, cornmeal, salt, egg, and milf or water until smooth with no lumps. Place a spoonful in 4 or 5 places in a hot skillet. Let brown, then turn over like a pancake and brown on the other side. Serve with butter and honey.

Westridge Young Writers Workshop, Kids Explore American's African American Heritage. New Mexico: John Muir Publications, 1996.

Banana Nut Bread #1

3/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
2 eggs
3/4 cup floured nuts, chopped ripe bananas, mashed with fork
Cream sugar and butter. Add flour, salt, soda and eggs. Fold in nuts and bananas. Turn into a greased, paper lined 5 x 9 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. Yields 20 servings. Serve with softened cream cheese if desired.

Hoe Cakes

1 cup white cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons bacon fat, butter or vegetable oil

Mix meal and salt in bowl. Add boiling water. Stir constantly with spoon. Mix well. Beat until smooth soft dough. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough into hot oil. Spread to form flat circles. Cook until golden brown (2 minutes) on each side, turning once with spatula. Frain on paper towel. Serve hot. (Makes 8)

Banana Nut Bread #2

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda in 1/2 cup of buttermilk
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 teaspooon butter nut vanilla flavoring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, flour and salt. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Down-Home Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shortening or cooking oil
3/4 cup milk

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture until it forms coarse crumbs. Add milk. Mix with fork until particles cling together. Form dough into a ball and transfer to lightly floured bread board. Knead gently 8 to 10 times. Roll dough out with rolling pin until about 1/2-inch thick. Cut with 2-inch round cutter or cut into 2-inch squares. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

To make shortcake, add 1 cup sugar. Then prepare the filling and topping. Wash and prepare 2 pints of strawberries. Top with milk, cream, or whipped cream.

Heritage Recipe from The Black Family Reunion Cookbook by the National Council of Negro Women.

Church Social Yeast Biscuits


1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees F.)
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup boiling water

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Beat butter, eggs, and sugar; add dissolved yeast and stir. Add flour, salt, and boiling water; mix well. Refrigerate dough overnight or until well chilled. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out dough to 3/4 inch thickness and cut into biscuits. Reroll scraps and cut again until all dough is used. Let biscuits rise 1 1/2 to 2 hours, and bake until golden brown, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. (12 to 18 biscuits)

Butter Rolls

1 cup milk
1 cake compressed yeast
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey
3 eggs
5 1/2 cups enriched flour, sifted
1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium saucepan, heat milk until small bubbles form on side of pan, and cool to lukewarm. Add yeast to milk and stir until dissolved. In a large bowl, cream butter, salt, and shortening; gradually add sugar and honey. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Gradually add flour, alternating with milk mixture, mixing well after each addition. Beat for 2 or 3 minutes after final addition. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rise in a warm place 1 hour or until double in bulk. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours or until chilled. Turn out onto a floured board, rool out to a thickness of 1/2 inch, and cut out with floured biscuit cutter. Reroll scraps and cut again until all dough is used. Place in a greased pan, brush with melted butter, and let rise until double in sixe, about 35 minutes. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden. (Makes 2 dozen rolls)

Tillery, Carolyn Quick, The African-American Heritage Cookbook, New Jersey: Carol Publishing Group, 1997.

Spoon Bread

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs - beaten

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine cornmeal and boiling water. Stir until smooth. Add butter and salt. Mix well. Let cool. Add milk and beaten eggs. Pour into greased casserole. Bake at 375 degrees F. for approximately 30 minutes. (Serves 6)

Refrigerator Rolls

1 cup milk
2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
6 cups flour
4 eggs - well beaten
2 packages yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
4 teaspoons salt

Scald the milk and add the butter, sugar and salt and stir until mixture is dissolved. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and let it cool. Add the eggs and yeast (pre-dissolved in water). Mix the flour, 3 cups at a time into the mixture. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it is doubled in bulk. Push the dough down and refrigerate overnight. NEXT DAY: Roll out the dough on a floured board. Cut dough with a biscuit cutter. Brush the tops with melted butter. Fold over and top with melted butter. Let the dough rise again until it is twice its size. Bake at 375 degrees F. until brown. (Makes 3 dozen)