Ok, so I had this big package of masa that I ordered to make tamales for Christmas. Still have a bunch of it left, and it was pretty much at its "best by" date when it arrived. So I thought I'd see how it did in cornbread to start to use it up. Answer - excellent! Nice texture, lovely flavor.
So, in case you ever get the hankering....
3 cups masa harina (tamal grind)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons sugar
2 1/2 cups buttermilk (I just used two of the Tesco buttermilks, it was close to 2.5 cups)
3 eggs
1 and 1/2 sticks butter, melted (about 170 grams)
Heat oven to 375F (180-ish on a fan oven)
Put a cast-iron or other oven-proof frying pan in it to heat up
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl
Mix all the wet ingredients in another bowl, saving about two tablespoons of the butter back
Stir the dry into the wet, mixing until there there is no dry left in lumps - don't overmix. You don't need a mixer for this, a spoon will do it.
When the oven is hot, take the pan out and grease it with the two tablespoons of melted butter
Spoon the masa mix into the pan, patting the surface down with a spatula (or your hand, be careful of the hot pan!) to make a smooth surface. Put in the oven for about 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness.
Pull pan out of oven let it cool at least five minutes before you get into the cornbread. It is particularly nice with butter and a drizzle of honey on top.
It's my understanding that masa has been processed with lime, making it a lot more digestable than "regular" cornmeal, so it might be an option if your gut doesn't normally like cornmeal.
