Gluten free, egg free, dairy free Southern Cornbread

Hard to say how I went from eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to cooking foods found in “The Conservative Hippy’s Cookbook.”  It has been a gradual shift really that has my older daughter worried about my mental health.

            “So, you don’t eat bacon?” she asked with evident concern in her voice.

            “Well, yeah, on occasion, just not in the amounts I used to.  I don’t really eat any meat in the amounts I used to… or dairy… or eggs,” my response did not put her at ease.

            We had our younger girl tested for allergies when she couldn’t sleep at night due to a terrible case of eczema that had her scratching and crying and her skin weeping.  Turned out that Ellen is allergic to eggs and nuts, and so we cut those out, and we learned to bake and cook eggless.  Then we read that cow’s milk can cause inflammation, and with eczema being an inflammatory irritation, cow’s milk, much to her mourning, got the boot.

            Myra was already gluten free due to allergic reactions to wheat (headaches, nausea, fatigue, nasal congestion), and then we read that wheat gluten can cause inflammation as well… well, guess we are all going gluten free (I recently discovered Einkorn which all of us can digest without issue, but that will be for another post).

            As a friend in Galena once pointed out, “Man, meals must be a lot of fun at your house with everyone just sitting around eating air.”

            That being said, we have figured out a way to eat good food that is good for our bodies, and… that friend in Galena never turned down an invitation to eat at our table, and he never left the house hungry.

            So… gluten free, egg free, southern corn bread (this is a recipe I adapted from The Joy of Cooking).  This recipe was already gluten free as the only flour in it comes from corn.  It originally called for eggs and butter milk though and that is where the substitutions come in.

While your oven is preheating to 450 degrees, put about a tablespoon of fat (I use Crisco) in the bottom of a 9-inch cast iron frying pan and put the pan in the oven.  Mix together the following ingredients in a large bowl:

            1 ¾ cups stone-ground cornmeal (We use Arrowhead Organic)

            1 tablespoon sugar (this is optional, and we omit it in favor of 

               unsweetened cornbread)

            1 teaspoon baking powder

            1 teaspoon baking soda

            1 teaspoon salt

            3 teaspoons ener-g brand egg replacer

Love this cornmeal, and it is easily found on Amazon in bulk.

This picture is just because I read recipes six times just to assure I use the right product... this recipe calls for an equal amount of both powder and soda.

There are a lot of things that can be used to replace eggs, but this one is quick, easy, and seems to help with bonding during baking.

We have used Silk brand Almond (vanilla flavored as well as plain) and Silk brand as well as Vita Coco brand unsweetened coconut all with equal success.  

In a liquid measuring cup that will hold more than two cups of liquid, add the following:

            2 cups of dairy-free milk (we have used coconut milk and almond milk with success)

2 tablespoons of white vinegar (any vinegar will do really, white just does not have any impact on the color of the final product)

Once the oven has preheated, stir the non-dairy milk/vinegar mixture into the dry ingredient bowl until completely combined.  This will be a very runny pancake batter consistency.  Remove the pan from the oven and pour all of the batter at once into the preheated pan.  Return the pan to the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes.  The top will be browned and the center firm when pressed.  Serve hot with non-dairy (if you are staying non-dairy with this recipe) butter, syrup, or honey. 

A breakfast favorite in our family... as well as the start of a great dressing.

            Like all cornbread, this one dries out quickly and is best eaten right out of the oven.  I have kept leftovers in a sealed plastic bag for a couple of days and it still made a good snack when reheated.

            This cornbread also makes a great cornbread stuffing/dressing that I can post if people are interested in that recipe.  That recipe is from the Joy of Cooking as well and can be made completely vegan if that is the path you have gone down.

            Just because some people can’t digest gluten, eggs, and dairy does not mean that they have to go without good food.