Colonial Spoon Bread

So, I saw this video about 5 PM tonight for Colonial Spoon Bread. By 6:30 I had it made and on my plate. I’ll tell you right up front I’m not a cornbread person. I’m not much of a corn person, just occasional corn on the cob. But I saw this video and thought I’d try it for you since I did have a bag of corn meal in the house (for another recipe).

The Original Video

Here is the link to the video by Chef Todd Mohr (click on the picture):

Making the Spoon Bread

Step-by-step instructions

 

I will break down the recipe and add the pictures I took as I made the spoon bread along with my hints as we go along.

 

In a medium saucepan:

¾ cup milk (I used organic whole milk)

¾ cup water

 

 

Turn flame on medium high and bring to a rolling boil.

 

 

Meanwhile measure the dry ingredients you will need to add to the boiling milk and water:

¾ cup corn meal

 Note: All I had course stoneground in the house. This is NOT what you should use. I should have ground it with a coffee grinder or the dry blender container of my Vitamix.

 

A pinch of Salt

1-2 tsp sugar

As you can see, I just measured the sugar and salt on top of the measured cornmeal.

 

 

At this point your milk should be boiling.

 

 

 

Add the dry ingredients and stir. Continue to stir until it comes together in a clump. If you make cream puffs, this will be similar to the pate a choux dough.

 

 

Continue Stirring over medium high heat:

 

 

When it is stiff, take off the heat and allow to cool to about 120° – 130°.

 

 

I stirred it a few times to release the heat. It took about 5-7 minutes to cool.

 

Meanwhile you’ll need:

3 eggs – I used organic, pasture raised

 

½ TB Baking Powder, I used Aluminum free

 

Whip the two of these in a bowl until light and fluffy. I actually started with the eggs. When I added the Baking Powder it really turned light and fluffy pretty quickly.

 

 

 

Check the cornmeal mixture.

 

 

(Don’t ask me what the black specs are. It wasn’t bugs. When I buy dried corn for birds, sometimes the corn has black where it meets the cob. That must this).

 

Now add the egg mixture. It will seem like it’s not going to mix, but suddenly it will loosen up and mix together.

 

 

I didn’t have a hotel pan like Chef Mohr used. I am guessing you don’t either. I looked at the bag of corn meal and it said to use a 9 x 9 for a similar sized recipe. That was ok. You could use an 8 x 8 or a round cake pan, too.

 

 

Chef Mohr said to bake until done but didn’t give a time. Done in the bread world is about 194°. Mine took 25 minutes to reach that. My bread was also firm, but I did add a little extra corn meal as it wasn’t firming up in the pan. Using Chef Mohr’s recipe and the right corn meal will probably give you the consistency of a spoon bread as he showed.

 

 

Serving the Spoon Bread

 

Chef Mohr also said he puts preserves on his. I made a spiced blackberry sauce when I was able to get cases of organic blackberries for $5 a few months ago. This was the perfect carrier for that sauce.

 

 

Here is my finished product. As I said, I added a little extra corn meal thinking the course meal measured differently than a finer meal. So, mine actually made a firmer bread. It was still moist, but not a spoon bread. But it was so yummy and I had, ah, 3 servings.

 

 

 

I can see why this was a favorite bread of the colonials. Corn was easy to grow and the bread was easy to make. It can be made savory by adding herbs, or made as a dessert, like it was done here.

 

So, if you want a quick and easy breakfast, a simple, inexpensive dessert, or just need to use up some extra jam, this would be a good choice.

 

Thank you, Chef Mohr, for this recipe. I hope all of you will check out Chef Mohr’s YouTube Channel. I’ve learned things from the videos even though I’ve been to culinary school.