- Masa de Harina Sweet Corn Bread
This isn’t any ol’ ordinary cornbread. It’s light as air, slightly sweet, a tad yellow, and the answer to a challenge. Well, not a challenge in the conventional sense, but a challenge to me nonetheless. I know someone (who shall remain nameless) who told me he made cornbread using the boxed Jiffy brand. While not horrified, exactly, I decided to come up with a very simple, sweet yellow cornbread that would wean him from the box. And this is it.
Quick breads (or breads using another leavening agent beside yeast) are just the most wonderful things. Using the “stirring method” – meaning no mixer required – makes them so simple to whip up in a…well…in a jiffy. Hmmm…I’m a little slow…but it just dawned on me where that brand name may have originated. Go figure.
Anyway, I decided to try to replicate the cake-like texture of that brand. So, it dawned on me, that when baking cakes, cake flour is very fine. This is what got me to thinkin’ about using Masa de harina.
Masa de harina is a white corn powder that is made with finely ground hominy. So, instead of just ground corn, there is another process entirely that takes place to make the masa. In order to make hominy from white corn, the corn kernels are first dried, then soaked and cooked in a solution of slaked lime. That’s what puffs up the corn kernels for hominy. Like this photo I nabbed from the interwebs at Cook’s Thesaurus:
Then, the hominy is ground into a really, really fine powder-like flour: Masa de harina, which is (round robin here) very much like the consistency of cake flour. So, that’s why I used it for this cornbread. I added some yellow cornmeal and some all-purpose flour, along with baking powder and salt for leavening…pretty standard. Then, for my liquids and fat I used half and half, sour cream and butter..can you say, RICH? The eggs, and the fact that you don’t over-mix this batter, give it a light fluffy texture.
I want some. Now. I hope you’ll try it too.
P~
- 1 cup masa harina
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1½ cups half and half (you could use milk) it may require a titch more if the batter seems dry.
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place masa, yellow cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Whisk half and half (or milk), sour cream, eggs and 4 tablespoons butter together in a small bowl.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
- With a wooden spoon, stir to combine. Do not over-mix.
- Spray or grease the inside of a 9" cast iron skillet.
- Spoon batter into skillet and smooth top.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges are browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Once removed from the oven, drizzle about a tablespoon melted butter on the top (optional).
- Cool in pan or on a rack slightly before serving.
- Serve warm.
Such a delicious recipe! I will be sharing this with everyone I know!
I am thrilled you liked it, Laura! Thank you for commenting and for sharing the recipe, too! P~
I’ve been using this recipe for the past couple of years for thanksgiving and this year I’m getting requests for it… “Bring the cornbread!! Yours is the best!” haha thanks for sharing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Amy, thank you so much for letting me know! P~
Can I bake this in a 9in. square pan?
Yes, Pat, you can. P~
Can I incorporate fresh jalapeños into this recipe? If so, how much do you recommend?
Sure you could! Of course it would depend on how much heat you want, but for a moderate amount I’d use one tablespoon. P~
Mother wanted cornbread and I only had a half cup of cornmeal but a bag of masa harina. I came across your recipe and it is wonderful! The recipe worked for me as written.
I’m so glad, Gary. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. P~
could you use buttermilk? what substitutions would I use?
Sure, SandyE. Use buttermilk in equal measure.
I haven’t tried this recipe but, lacking regular cornmeal, I did try a Martha S. cornbread recipe substituting the cornmeal for masa and just adding more milk since the masa is more absorbant. It was the moistest, fluffiest and most flavorful plain cornbread I’ve ever had. It is cake-like. Such a good idea!
It is very cake-like! I’m happy you discovered the delights of masa cornbread!
Can you make this in muffin tins?? Trying to find a way for husband to take this with him to work…
Kristen, I don’t see why not. I’d bake them at 400 for 15-20 minutes. P~
Great, I will give it a try! Thank you!
You’re very welcome!
OMG, this is such a great recipe! And so tweak-able to accommodate what we do and don’t have on hand! Thank you for this! I had been craving grits for breakfast, and can no longer seem to find them here in the Frozen North (Montreal), so I figured corn bread was just as good, if not better, to satisfy the craving. I had some masa harina left over from another recipe, and I usually have yellow corn meal. Instead of only AP flour, though, I use a protein-fortified mix of wheat germ and flours from wheat, soy, barley, buckwheat, teff, and brown rice. Since I had no half-half or sour cream, I used the maple yogurt that I did have. OK, I know that authentic maple foods are rarer and more expensive in the South. I have found that any flavored or plain yogurt works well. I also like a mix of evaporated and coconut milks, and I keep cans of them just for recipes. Then there is, of course, good old-fashioned buttermilk! Bacon drippings instead of butter can give an equally satisfying flavor. The slices reheat nicely in the toaster oven. A couple of slices and a hunk of cheese gave me a satisfying breakfast this morning! Believe me that this is a testament to the wonderfulness of your recipe and not at all any kind of criticism!
Terrie, I’m so happy you were able to make the recipe your own. And that you took the time to comment. I appreciate hearing from people who have tried a recipe. So, thank you! P~
I love this recipe. The first time it came out crumbly but tasty. This time I used 4 eggs and it was perfect. Next time I’ll try buttermilk too.
Thank you for you’re awesome recipe! I am, by necessity, gluten free. I made a double batch of this in a 9 x 13 pan with GF flour and it turned out great! As the pan was larger I did let it cook about 27 minutes. LOL I also added slightly more sugar – my family likes sweet 🙂