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GF Cheese and Jalapeño Cornbread

Gluten-Free Cheese and Jalapeño Cornbread

Cornbread wasn’t something I grew up with, yet now I can’t live without it. It only requires 15 minutes of effort, plus resting and cooking time, but best of all, it’s utterly indistinguishable from its gluten-containing counterpart. With a fluffy texture, and a subtle sweet and spicy, cheesy flavour, I now enjoy this regularly with soup or just for a light lunch with butter.
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Author Becky Excell

Ingredients

  • 170 ml ¾ cup minus 2 tsp milk
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 150 g 1 cup plus 2 tbsp glutenfree plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 150 g 1 cup fine polenta (ensure gluten-free)
  • 50 g ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking powder)
  • ½ tsp xanthan gum
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 100 g ½ cup minus 1 tbsp butter, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 25 g 1oz jalapeños, chopped
  • 125 g 4½oz extra-mature Cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions

  1. Grease a 23cm (9in) square baking tin (pan) with butter or oil.
  2. In a jug (pitcher), combine the milk and lemon juice and allow to rest for 10 minutes. It should become a little lumpy – that’s when you know it’s ready to use!
  3. Put the flour, polenta, sugar, bicarb, xanthan gum and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir together until well combined.
  4. In a separate mixing bowl, put the melted and slightly cooled butter, then crack in the eggs and pour in your milk mixture. Beat together until well combined.
  5. Add your wet ingredients to your dry mixture and mix until it reaches a smooth, thick consistency. Once it reaches this point – stop! Make sure you don’t overmix this one.
  6. Add your chopped jalapeños and two-thirds of your grated cheese, then fold in using a silicone spatula until evenly dispersed. Transfer the batter into the baking tin and use your spatula to ensure it’s nice and level. Sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese, cover loosely with a tea (dish) towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 200°C fan / 220°C / 425°F.
  7. Bake the cornbread in the hot oven for 20 minutes until lovely and golden on top. Remove from the tin and transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10–20 minutes.
  8. Once slightly cooled, simply slice and enjoy warm with butter or alongside your favourite soup. Once fully cooled, store in an airtight container and microwave to refresh.

Recipe Notes

This recipe takes 15 minutes to prep, 30 minutes resting and 20 minutes to bake.