Corn Bread

I have been on a quest for a great corn bread. Not just good, but great. Muffins, loaf- I don't care, I just want it to be the kind of corn bread that you can't stop eating even with lots of other good things around to eat. However, I also want it to be healthier than the practically dessert corn bread muffins you can get at certain BBQ places. Since I have a bunch of yogurt around these days, and I typically love muffins that use a lot of sour cream or yogurt, I decided I should give this yogurt based corn bread a try. It smelled so good while it was baking and cooling- better than corn bread usually does I think.

The yogurt makes this corn bread so moist. It slices almost like cake and doesn't crumble. It has a slightly tart taste because of the yogurt, and it goes wonderfully with something savory like a big bowl of chili. I bet that muffins would probably turn out just as moist, but I haven't had the chance to try yet. I think I might like the loaf a touch better than muffins actually. I never thought I would say that :)

Is my quest for great corn bread at an end? I think it might be- at least for now. I will probably keep looking for different recipes, but it is going to have to be a pretty outstanding recipe for me to even try it.

Corn Bread
Makes 1 loaf

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons honey
1 3/4 cups yogurt
3 tablespoon olive oil

1. Preheat your oven to 450°. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the cornmeal.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and egg yolk together, then add in the honey and the yogurt. Whisk together then stir in the olive oil.

4. Gently add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture stirring constantly until it is well blended and smooth. Do not overmix.

5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the loaf is dark golden on top. Remove from the oven, allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Adapted from Mediterranean: The Beautiful Cookbook