Jalapeno cheese corn bread mini loaves

This is such a delicious treat that I can't resist making it, even if it's only for myself.

Recipe: Jalapeno cheese corn bread (2 mini loaves)

Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup Hudgson Mill yellow corn flour
- 1/4 cup KAF all-purpose flour
- 1/2 TB sugar
- 3/4 tp salt
- a little less than 2 tp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
- 3 jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
- 1/4 medium onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup coffee cream
- about 2 TB to 1/4 cup water
- 2 TB potato starch for adjustment

Procedure:
1. Sieve corn flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.
2. Mix corn kernels, chopped peppers, chopped onions, cubed cheese in a large bowl. Add in the dry ingredients. Mix.
3. Then add an egg and 1/4 cup of cream. Mix well.
4. Add water to adjust hydration. Add potato starch and adjust hydration.
5. Bake at 450F for 15 minutes. Then when top is nicely golden, cover with foil. Resume baking at 400F  for another 10 minutes.

Results:
1:57pm, most ingredients except the cream and water:

2:08pm, sieved dry ingredients, chopped onion, pepper, and cheese:

2:09pm, mixing the vegetables and cheese with the dry ingredients:

2:11pm, adding 1/4 cup of coffee cream to the mixture after adding egg:

2:15pm, adding 2 TB potato starch:

2:18pm, final batter after hydration adjustment:

2:18pm, spooning batter to generously greased pans (observe texture of batter):

2:22pm, batter flattened:

2:22pm, height of batter in pans:

2:25pm, loaves started baking at 450F:

2:39pm, loaves baked 14 minutes, top golden brown and sizzling, cheese bubbling:

2:40pm, loaves' height after baking 14 minutes:

2:41pm, loaves covered and resumed baking at 400F:

2:50pm, loaves baked 23 minutes in total:

2:52pm, loaves' top when baked:

2:52pm, loaves' heights:

2:52pm, loaves' edges to be detached from the sides of the pans before cooling:

3:03pm, loaves' allowed to cool for 10 minutes, then removed from pans with a soft spatula:

3:07pm, loaves' tops:

3:07pm, loaves' bottoms, nicely golden brown, just slightly deeper in color than tops (note: loaves are fragile and not subject to turning around when hot):

3:06pm, corners of the loaves:

3:07pm, loaf's corner details:

3:08pm, one loaf's top, detailed texture:

3:09pm, one loaf's side:

4:16pm, loaves' cooled height:

4:16pm, loaves' cooled heels:

4:16pm, loave's cooled color contrast between bottom and top:

6:20pm, a cross section of one loaf:

6:22pm, a bite on a piece from the first loaf (observe that the large hole seems to come from the melted cheese instead of lumps of baking powder):

6:25pm, the interior of the other loaf:

Observations:
1. Oh the batter is very yummy! That's a clear sign of a very yummy loaf.
2. These loaves are less cohesive than my previous loaf. Maybe I have added too much vegetables in proportion to flours.
3. When the loaves just come out of oven, they are very soft. It is absolutely necessary to let them cool in the pans. Before cooling, detaching the loaves from the edges of the pan is needed, so that the loaves won't tear. The loaves harden after cooling for at least 1 hour.
4. Sieving the dry ingredients seem to do a lot of good to the texture of the loaves. This time, the loaves seem to have much more uniform density. There are large holes in the crumb, but they seem to be caused by melted cheese instead of lumps of baking powder.
5. The down side of this recipe is that the jalapeno pepper burns the fingers, and the mild burning sensation stay on the tender flesh just above the nails for a few hours after I finish chopping the peppers and washing my hands.


I am simply fanatically in love with these loaves!

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.