Yeasted Fiesta Cornbread!

It's time to liven up winter, don't you think? When we had a very brief, fleeting glimpse of Spring one day this week, it made me CRAZY to change up the "routine" a bit. I wasn't sure HOW I was going to change, or WHAT I was going to change.......all I know is that I needed a little bit of a change!!! I ended up cleaning up our breezeway, washing some windows and trying a new chili recipe, which ended up being quite tasty. Now in my book, chili can not be served without cornbread, and I'm a real lover of moist, quick-bread-type cornbread (and I have a great recipe for traditional sweet cornbread). But change was in the air, so a new cornbread recipe was in order, along with the new chili recipe. 

I've tried some yeasted cornbreads and......they're not bad......but I LOVE moist, traditional cornbread. This is the first yeasted cornbread that is not only moist, but it's bursting with wonderful flavor......peppers, cilantro, cheddar, corn .....yum, yum and more yum! I'm thinking I should have added a few tablespoons of diced red pepper for color, too! So why don't you try it?.....Change things up a bit! 

Yeasted Fiesta Cornbread 

1 Cup warm water

1 Tbsp./packet Red Star Platinum yeast 

3+  Cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Cup yellow corn meal

½ Cup shredded cheddar cheese

½ Cup creamed corn

¼ Cup canned, diced green chilies

2 tsp. dried cilantro (you may use fresh)

1 Tbsp. diced jalapenos (I used dried)

Add water to EZ DOH bucket and dissolve yeast in water. Wait 1-2 minutes, then add remaining ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 3-4 minutes, or until dough has lost most of its stickiness, adding additional flour, if necessary. Remove dough from bucket, spray bucket lightly with cooking spray and replace dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled. Remove dough from bucket. Spray 2 – 9” cake pans. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Place in pans and flatten slightly. Cover and let rise till doubled. (I put mine in the frig and let them rise overnight. Be sure to lightly spray the tops of your loaf if you do this so the saran won't stick to it! ). Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from pan. Cool slightly. Cut into wedges and serve.

Adapted from a recipe in “Electric Bread” 

Yeasted Fiesta Cornbread!