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Corn Porridge and Rosemary Sourdough Bread
This fresh-milled corn and rosemary bread is so aromatic and delicious. There’s more than a hint of corn in the recipe, so you can really taste the corn flavor and it meets the aromatic rosemary on equal footing. I’ve been adding fresh-milled corn flour to waffle and pancake batter for a while now, and loving the slight sweetness and how delectably crispy it makes the surface and edges of the pancakes and waffles. In this bread, the fresh-milled corn flour makes for a super chewy crust and crumb.
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Custardy crumb with flecks of corn and bits of rosemary
Here’s a little background on my strategy with this recipe before we dive in.
Milling Corn: I double milled the corn: one pass with the stones wide, followed by a second pass with the stones at the closest setting. If you don’t have a countertop stone mill, you can use store bought corn flour, ideally a fine ground. Unsurprisingly I find that fresh-milled corn flour tastes more like fresh corn, and anecdotally, I find the yellow dent corn is sweeter and a smidge thirstier than the niles red flint corn. The hydration difference is covered in the recipe below.
First pass of the corn through the Mockmill, and after mixing with water
Soaking: Then I mixed boiling water into the corn flour to soften the corn bran flakes, also called the pericarp. I covered the bowl and let this porridge cool down for 1-2 hours while my sourdough starter continued to ripen.
Other Options: You can sift the corn flour after the first pass, and then re-mill the corn bran for an even finer flour, but I didn’t think this was necessary, especially given that I was pairing it with bread flour. Also you can cook the corn flour over the stove for a while, perhaps softening it further.
Finally, if you don’t have corn to mill or corn flour, I think it would be possible to use canned corn or bagged frozen corn. After removing the excess liquid, you could blend it to a puree. I would suggest you use significantly less water in the final dough in this scenario.
Red corn porridge, bread flour, water, sourdough starter, honey, and salt
Yellow corn porridge, bread flour, water, sourdough starter, honey, and salt
Gluten Development and Herb Addition: During the first half of the bulk fermentation, I developed the gluten in the dough through two rounds of mixed technique and one of coil folding. You can view videos of both maneuvers in this blog post on Gluten Development for Artisan Bread. I chose to add the rosemary via laminating the dough at the pre-shaping stage. This gives the bread bursts of rosemary in the crumb. Adding the rosemary at the beginning of the bulk fermentation, either during mixing or an early lamination, is also a great option, and will likely give you a more diffuse rosemary flavor.
Here is a photo series of how I add the rosemary. (Ignore the olives for this recipe…or go for an olive-corn-rosemary bread and let me know how it tastes!) After stretching out the dough, I sprinkle on some rosemary, followed by a dough fold, then a layer of rosemary and so on, until I have a thick square of layers. Then I pre-shape the dough into a boule.
Layering in herbs during the pre-shape
Gorgeous and nutritious yellow hue from the corn bran
Corn Porridge and Rosemary Sourdough Bread
Corn porridge and rosemary sourdough bread combines fantastic aromas, and savory and slightly sweet flavors. The texture of the bread is custardy and wonderfully soft. Use yellow or red corn; we've tried both and the results are gorgeous and delicious.
Ingredients
If possible, use the weight measurements (grams). Otherwise, add the water to the final dough slowly and stop early if necessary.
For the Porridge
For the Dough
Instructions
Porridge
Mixing the Dough
Bulk Fermentation
Adding Rosemary and Pre-Shaping
Shaping and Final Proof
Baking
Photo Gallery: Two rounds of baking (red and yellow corn)
Shopping List
If you enjoyed this recipe and would like to try another sourdough bread with corn flour, here is a recipe for Broa de Milho (Portuguese Corn and Rye Bread).
Corn Porridge and Rosemary Sourdough Bread