Oil-Free Cornbread

Oil-Free Cornbread

I have been working on an oil-free cornbread recipe that comes out with a nice springy bread texture. Some of my earlier tries were too dense and a little dry. After lots of tweaking, I found that the combination of flax and applesauce resulted in a moist bread with some lift. It was just what I was looking for in an oil-free version. I have been baking vegan cakes, breads, cookies, and pastries for just over 20 years now and have tried so many different things as egg replacers. For me, a flax egg gives the best texture to most baked goods without altering the flavor. If you are new to vegan cooking, know that your tastes do change over time. You can adjust to and grow to love this way of cooking and eating. I love the challenge of recreating old favorites and making them in a healthier way. Try a variety of methods and recipes and find the ones that suit you! 

This cornbread has just a hint of sweetness and is good on its own, especially when it is warm out of the oven.  We have made this a few times now and my family devours it within a day every time, so I knew it was a hit. Try this oil-free vegan cornbread alongside some chili, or a winter stew for a satisfying and healthy meal.  This can be made gluten-free if you use oat flour in place of the whole wheat flour, which still makes a great loaf of bread that is just slightly more dense than the whole wheat version.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp flax meal

6 tbsp water

1 cup soy milk (or other plant milk)

1 1/2 tsp vinegar

1/2 cup applesauce

2 tbsp maple syrup

1 cup whole wheat flour (oat flour works, too, but is a bit more dense)

1 cup cornmeal

1 tbsp baking powder (that is not a typo - you need a full tablespoon to get a nice rise to this bread)

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Line an 8x8 square baking pan with parchment paper.

Combine the flax meal with the water. Give it a stir and let sit to thicken up a bit.

Stir the vinegar into the soy milk and add the applesauce and maple syrup to this mix.

Set these wet ingredients aside (I usually prep them in a glass measuring cup. Once the flax is thickened, I add the soy milk and vinegar to it, plus the applesauce and maple syrup).

For the dry ingredients, combine the whole wheat flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Then add the wet ingredients and fold these in until everything is just combined.

Pour this batter into an 8x8 square baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on it and if the top is getting too browned, loosely cover it with some foil. After 20 minutes check that the bread is done with the toothpick test - which is a real thing. 

Let the bread cool a bit and then dig in!