Babes Bake a Corny Yeasted Bread

 No, not corny because it's malarkey, but actually a loaf or braid with both corn flour and corn kernels. It's a fine bread to go with soup or stew or chowder, but also makes great toast.

This challenge is brought to us by Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories. It is a nice one because it goes together fairly quickly. You can either use sourdough starter if you have it, or do as I did and mix together equal amounts of flour and water to make the 1/2 cup starter. You won't get the lovely depth of flavor that you get with starter, but the recipe calls for so much instant yeast that your loaf...or braid...will rise just fine without the sourdough starter.

The challenge was to make a very large loaf, but I went with a braid instead because it's been a long time since I made one and because I felt like it. I'm sure that the loaf is a fine way to go, too. Do check out our other Bread Baking Babes to see their take on the challenge.

Want to make this bread? Consider posting about your bake and sending the URL and a photo with short description to Karen to be a Bread Baking Buddy and be included in the Buddy round-up. Just get it to her by Nov. 29th. More information is on her blog.

Yeasted Corn Bread

Ingredients:

425 grams (1 3/4 cups plus 1 teaspoon) lukewarm (80-90 degrees F) water

100 grams ( a little less than 1/2 cup) flour mixture ( 1/2 cup flour mixed with just slightly less water OR 1/2 cup sourdough starter)

400 grams (2 3/4 cups plus 2 teaspoons) bread flour

175 grams (1 1/2 cups plus 1 teaspoon) corn flour - I used Bob's Red Mill millet flour

175 grams (1 cup) corn kernels - I used frozen corn kernels, thawed

14 grams (2 3/4 teaspoons) fine sea salt

2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast - I used 2 packets

Instructions:

In a large container, such as 6-quart tub, add the water. Add the flour mixture or sourdough starter to the water and mix with your hand or a whisk. 

Add the bread flour, corn flour, corn kernels if using. Mix by hand until incorporated. (I mixed the flours together in a large bowl, then used a whisk for the first 1/2 cup or so, then my clean hand. The dough came together in a shaggy mass.

Sprinkle the salt (to one side) and the yeast (to the other side) over the top, cover, and let rest for 20 minutes. 

Mix with a wet hand, using your fingers to pinch the dough to incorporate the salt and yeast, and then stretch and fold a few times to fully incorporate salt and yeast. Finish with a stretch and fold. Let rest a couple of minutes and then stretch and fold a few more times. 

Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Stretch and fold again, cover and let rest for 30 more minutes. Do a final stretch and fold, cover, and let rise until it's 2 1/2 to 3 times it's original size but still domed and not flattened. If you're using a tub with level marks, it should reach the 2-quart mark. 

In the meantime, spray a loaf pan with spray oil or spray a baking sheet if you are doing a braid as I did. 

When it's ready, gently turn the dough out onto your work floured surface. 

If you are making a braid as I did, use a bench scraper to divide the dough into three pieces. Keep the surface floured as you work. Roll each of the pieces into a snake about 15-inches long. Move to the prepared pan, pinch the ends together and loosely braid, tucking ends under when braided. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, oiled side to loaf, and let rise about an hour until  puffy and almost doubled in size.

If you are making a loaf, gently flatten the dough into a rectangle to 2 to 3 times its original width and about as wide.  Fold the ends back over each other creating a rectangle double the width of the pan. Roll up the dough to form a tube about the same length as your pan. Place it in your pan seam side up." 

Brush the loaf with water. 

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour, until slightly crested over the top of the pan (if using a 10 inch x 5 inch loaf pan). 

For either shape:

Heat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bake. For the braid it will be for about 30-45 minutes, until it is browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the back. For the loaf, bake for about 50 minutes, turning halfway through for even baking. 

Move or turn it out onto a wire rack and let cool at least an hour. It actually gets better if you wait a bit longer.