Cornbread Muffins - #MuffinMonday

I recently cleaned out my freezer - tossing items that were no longer good and ear-marking others I needed to use ASAP.  There's a bag of spelt that I had intended on using in bread but was quite tasty in my nightly microwave mug cakes. I also found a bag of Martha White's Buttermilk White Corn Meal mix that someone gave me about a year ago. I never used it because I don't like cornmeal and just never got around to making my family something with it. Yesterday seemed like a good day to whip up some cornbread muffins. I kept things simple and used the recipe on the bag but added sugar as my mother likes a sweet cornbread.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the muffins. I didn't taste them but I had one complaint - they stick A LOT. Should I have heated the pan first? If you make this, use cupcake wrappers.  Scroll down to see what the other Muffin Monday bakers made for you this month. It certainly looks like a mouth-watering list.

Also, stay safe! Things here went from somewhat manageable to extremely scary in just about a week so I'm battening down the hatches.

Cornbread Muffins

Yield: 12 to 13 muffins

Ingredients 

1 egg
1 1/3 cup milk
6 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons oil
2 cups Martha White Buttermilk White Corn Meal Mix

Directions 

Preheat oven to 450 F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake wrappers.

Whisk the egg, milk, sugar, and oil. Stir in the corn meal mix until smooth. It smooths out pretty quickly. Fill each muffin well about two thirds full.

Bake 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy straight from the oven like my brother did or you can wait until they cool.

• Celebratory Gluten-Free Strawberry Muffins from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chocolate Coconut Banana Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate Mocha Muffins from Making Miracles
• Coffee Cake Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Cornbread Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Sweet Potato Sprouted Spelt Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Toffee Mocha Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Tomato Basil Muffins from Palatable Pastime 
• Wild Violet Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Kalach (Hungarian Easter Bread) - #BreadBakers

How was your Easter weekend? I have to say that apart from being under curfew from 3 pm each day, it wasn't that different for me. My family doesn't have a lot of Easter traditions. We eat the traditional fried fish plus Easter bun and cheese but overall, things are usually quiet and simple. That's pretty much how it was Friday through Monday. Quiet.

This year my Easter table also had this loaf from Hungary. The kalac or kalach is a celebratory bread in Hungary and comes in various shapes and even with fillings. I chose this braided version because I love braided breads even though I am really not that good at braiding them. Work in progress! It is not as rich as a challah but has a similar texture. Maybe next time I'll try one with a filling.


Scroll down to see how the other Bread Bakers celebrated Easter! Thanks for hosting Camilla!

Kalach - Hungarian Easter Bread 

Ingredients 

500 g flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
60g sugar
2 teaspoons salt
240 ml milk
1 egg
1 yolk (reserve the white)
3 1/2 tablespoons oil or melted butter

Directions

Whisk the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the milk, egg, and yolk. Knead until it just starts to form a ball. Next, add the oil or melted butter in small amounts until it is all incorporated. The dough should not be sticky.
Refrigerate overnight or allow to rise at room temperature until doubled.
Divide the risen dough into 6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a 16 inch snake.
Braid the strands as shown in this video.
Add a splash of water to the egg white. Mix together and brush the loaf.
Allow the dough to rise 30-40 mins until puffy.
Before the dough has completely risen, preheat the oven to 350 F.
When the loaf is ready, brush the dough another time with the egg wash.

Bake 40 minutes.

Notes
Adapted from Zserbo


#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the Bread Bakers home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla has selected Easter breads from around the world as our theme.

She wrote: "We're posting after the actual holiday. I know. However, as everyone is home, sheltered-in-place to help flatten the coronavirus curve, maybe people are delaying Easter celebrations with friends and family. I know I am!"

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

• Choereg (Armenian Easter Bread) by Making Miracles
• Easy Glazed Baked Donuts by Shockingly Delicious
• Folar da Páscoa, a Less-Than-Traditional Version by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• German Osterbrot Easter Bread by Ambrosia
• Hot Cross Buns by Sneha's Recipe
• Polish Babka by A Messy Kitchen
• Kalach (Hungarian Easter Bread) by Passion Kneaded
• Kozunak (Bulgarian Easter Bread) by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Russian Kulich - Easter Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Sourdough Hot Cross Buns by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Ukrainian Paska by Zesty South Indian Kitchen