Yeast-Raised Cornbread with Brown Butter

This loaf makes great toast because it’s not only crackly on the outside, but also has crunchy bits on the inside. In this yeast-raised cornbread recipe from Jeffrey Hamelman, fine cornmeal is added to a basic white wheat dough for texture and that freshly made tortilla smell.

I couldn’t help but think of popcorn so I replaced the extra virgin olive oil in the original recipe with brown butter (or beurre noisette for you Francophiles). The movie theater scent is faint, but toasting and serving with a side of the amber liquid makes it a bit more obvious.

recipe adapted from Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog

Yeast-Raised Cornbread with Brown Butter

makes 2 loaves weighing approximately 1 1/4 pounds  / 567 grams

For the Poolish (Pre-fermented Dough):

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
bread flour, unbleached       1 3/4 cups          8            227
water, at room temperature        1 tbsp          8            227
instant yeast                   1/8 tsp

Poolish (Pre-fermented Dough) Instructions:

Mix the poolish ingredients until smooth. Cover and leave at room temperature for 12 to 16 hours.

Final Dough Formula:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
cornmeal, preferably fine grind   2 cups          8            227
water, at room temperature    1 1/2 cups         12.2          346
bread flour, unbleached       3 5/8 cups         16            454
kosher salt                       1 tbsp + 2 tsp   .6           17
instant yeast                 1 1/2 tsp
brown butter, cooled              3 tbsp          1.6           45
all of the poolish

Notes:

• Use about 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter to make 3 tablespoons of brown butter.

Final Dough Instructions:

Soak            Mix the cornmeal and water. Let the cornmeal soak for
                at least 15 minutes to soften the cornmeal.

Mix             Add the rest of the final dough ingredients until a
                shaggy ball is formed.

Knead           8 to 10 minutes. The cornmeal will inhibit gluten
                formation but the dough should be pliable and only
                slightly sticky. 

Rest            5 minutes

Knead           1 minute to further strengthen the gluten.

Ferment #1      45 minutes at room temperature

Stretch and Fold

Ferment #2      45 minutes at room temperature

Divide          2 pieces

Preshape        loose rounds

Rest            15 to 20 minutes

Shape           shape into a tight oval or boule

Preheat Oven    460ºF/238ºC

Final Proof     1 to 1 1/4 hours at room temperature

Proofed yeast-raised cornbread dough.

Score

Slashed yeast-raised cornbread dough. Got a bit overzealous with the knife here.

Steam           1 cup of boiling water poured into a heavy steam
                pan, preferably cast iron

Bake            Bake at 460ºF/238ºC for about 40 minutes, rotating
                the pan halfway through baking to brown the loaves
                evenly and let the steam escape.

Cool            At least 1 hour

Yeast-raised cornbread cooling on a rack.

The requisite crumb shot. The crumb is tight because cornmeal and gluten do not get along well.

Links About Jeffrey Hamelman’s Yeast-Raised Cornbread:

• Bread Cetera
  

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