Chipotle Corn Bread

If you love cornbread the way I love cornbread, well then you don't make it very often.  After all, something this good is gobbled up a bit too quickly, calories stacking up end on end... well lets just say I don't make it often so when I do, if needs to really count!

For this I pulled out Breads of the Southwest by Beth Hensperger.  Beth wrote the book on bread baking (or least one of them).  It is The Bread Bible and is a necessary reference if you love to bake.

But I digress.  This is, after all, about the cornbread.  The tender, chewy, slightly moist piece of heaven served to you.  This one didn't disappoint.  Chipotle peppers add a nice level of heat that mingled well with the bits of corn.  I left the cheese out and to tell the truth, I didn't miss it.  For me, this bread was the perfect level of moist and dry. 
 

And of course, if you don't want the heat, leave out the chiles.  The recipe will still be perfect.

Chipotle Corn Bread (Breads of the Southwest)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups coarse-grind yellow cornmeal 

1 T sugar

1 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1/3 cup corn oil

2 canned whole chipotles in adobo

1 cup shredded Monterey jack (I left this out)

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  Grease a cast-iron skillet and place it in the oven, or grease a 10-inch springform pan and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In a food processor or blender, combine the buttermilk, eggs, oil and chipotles.  Blend until the chipotles are finely chopped.  Add the buttermilk mixture and the cheese to the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until just blended,  Take care not to overmix.  Pour the batter into the skillet or pan.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden around the edges,  Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.