Jalapeno cheese corn bread

After trying two or three of Bernard Clayton's corn bread recipes, I thought I've got most of it. Not until I try this jalapeno corn bread do I realize how broad the collection is in his book. This corn bread is a totally character in its own right.

Recipe: Jalapeno corn bread (one large loaf)

Ingredients:
- 1+1/4 cup yellow corn flour
- 1/2 cup KAF all-purpose flour
- 1 TB white sugar
- 1+1/4 tp table salt
- 1 TB baking powder
- 1/2 cup cold 1% milk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup olive oil  (3 TB for batter, 1 TB for greasing the pan)
- 1 cup sweet corn kernels from can
- 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 1/4 large onion, chopped
- 1 cup Trader Joe's sharp cheddar cheese, chopped
- 1/4 cup milk (for adjustment)

- 1/4 cup potato starch (for adjustment)

Procedure:
1. Mix corn flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking powder in a large bowl.
2. Add milk and egg. Mix somewhat. Then add corn, peppers and onion. Adjust the hydration with more milk or some potato flour. Then add the cheese. Adjust hydration again. The mixture should for a very thick crumbly batter.
3. When the batter is well mixed, add 3 TB olive oil. Mix well. Use 1 TB olive oil to grease a 9"x5" loaf pan. Preheat oven to 425F.
4. Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Flatten top gently.
5. Bake in oven at 425F, middle rack. About 30 minutes. Cover top if too brown after the first 15-20 minutes.
6. When done, allow loaf to cool in pan before cutting the bread.

Results:
3:48pm, the mixed dry ingredients and all other ingredients:

3:55pm, flour mixture moistened with milk and egg:

3:56pm, corns and peppers added:

3:59pm, cheese added:

4:04pm, about 1/4 cup potato starch added to improve consistency:

4:05pm, texture of the batter:

4:06pm, oil added:

4:08pm, final batter ready:

4:11pm, batter being transferred to a greased pan:

4:13pm, batter forming a little mold in pan:

4:14pm, batter flattened:

4:14pm, batter's height:

4:17pm, batter to bake at 425F:

4:40pm, loaf baked 23 minutes:

4:41pm, loaf covered with foil and resuming baking at 425F:

4:54pm, loaf baked 37 minutes, reaching internal temperature of 170F, but loaf not strong enough to hold the thermometer:

4:55pm, thermometer coming out sticky, loaf resumed baking:

5:10pm, loaf baked 53 minutes, internal temperature exceeding 190F:

5:10pm, thermometer still coming out sticky:

5:11pm, loaf's top:

5:11pm, loaf's height:

5:11pm, cracks on the loaf's crust as the loaf expands in oven:

5:12pm, loaf's corner:

5:13pm, loaf's edge mostly detached from the pan because of the abundance of greasing oil:

6:20pm, loaf cooled 1 hour in pan, height after cooling:

6:23pm, loaf's corner:

6:23pm, loaf's side:

6:23pm, the expanded crack on the top of the loaf:

6:24pm, loaf's heel:

6:24pm, loaf's top:

6:26pm, loaf's bottom:

6:35pm, loaf sliced, non-sticky:

6:28pm, loaf's crust and crumb:

6:29pm, a slice:

Observations:
1. When I scrub the crumb off the thermometer and taste it while it's still hot, I am stunned by the spicy taste of the chilly. Oh my! This is the spiciest bread I've ever tasted. However, when the loaf cools down, the spicy flavor is mostly gone. I can still taste a little of the pepper, but no longer burning.
2. I notice that the bread hardens up really well after 1 hour of cooling. Before cooling, the loaf does not quite past the cake test. But after cooling, the loaf has consolidated so much that it falls out of the pan nicely. Slicing is easy, and the knife comes out clean.
3. I notice that with my home's oven, it always takes nearly double as long as the recommended 30 minutes to bake a quick bread at 350F. For this loaf, the baking is 50 minutes.

My hubby does not particularly like his loaf. His image of corn bread is a sweet cake-like bread. This combination of jalapeno, corn and cheese just doesn't seem right to him. But I really love this loaf, and am going to enjoy it as breakfast for a few days.