Primal/Paleo Cornbread

Primal This cornbread isn’t made with corn at all, but it sure tastes like the real thing. Buttery and slightly sweet with a rich, cake-like texture, Primal cornbread is the perfect side with a bowl of chili or stew. It can also be used to make cornbread stuffing when Thanksgiving rolls around.

What makes Primal cornbread taste better than all the others is combining finely ground almond flour with cassava flour. The cassava flour is the real secret, because it gives baked goods a smooth, rich texture. This bread has no graininess, no coconut flavor, and only real, whole food ingredients like eggs, butter, and honey.

Servings: 6

Time in the Kitchen: 25 minutes, plus 25 minutes to bake

Ingredients

Primal

4 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
3/4 cup cassava flour (96 grams)
3/4 blanched finely ground almond flour (84 grams)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (45 g)
¼ cup honey (60 ml)
1/2 teaspoon salt (2.5 ml)
3 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder (15 ml)
¼ cup water (60 ml)
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (1.2 ml)

Instructions

Primal Aviary

Recipe Notes…

If you have a kitchen scale, use it for this recipe, since scooping with measuring cups can result in inadvertently using too much, or too little, of each flour. Changing the flour quantities even slightly will result in bread that has a slightly different flavor and texture. Using more almond flour results in bread that’s less flavorful and slightly drier. Using more cassava flour has nice flavor, but the loaf is heavier and the outside is likely to burn before the inside is cooked through.

This cornbread is baked in a regular loaf pan because it rises better in a loaf pan. The bread won’t rise properly in a square pan.

Preheat oven to 375º F/190º C.

Lightly grease/butter an 8.5×4.5 loaf pan. For easiest release, cover the bottom of the loaf pan with lightly greased parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine egg yolks, cassava and almond flours, butter, honey, salt and baking powder. Once the ingredients have combined into a dough-like consistency, add water and blend just a little more to create a wet batter.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar. Using the whisk attachment, whisk until the egg whites are big and fluffy and soft peaks form (when the whisk is lifted out of the egg whites, a soft peak should form, then fall slightly).

Scrape 1/3 of the egg whites into the food processor. Pulse until combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Add another 1/3 of the egg whites, and pulse again until combined.

Scrape the dough out of the food processor into the bowl with the remaining egg whites. Use a spatula to gently fold the egg whites into the dough. Gently fold and mix until there are no white streaks, but be gentle; the air in the egg whites helps the dough rise into a loaf with a light texture.

Scrape the batter into the loaf pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Err on the side of taking the bread out slightly too soon, since slightly underdone cornbread tastes better than dry cornbread.)

Let cool for at least 20 minutes before removing from the loaf pan and slicing or cutting into squares. Serve with butter spread on top.

This cornbread is best the day it’s made, but it keeps fairly well for 1 to 2 days in a sealed bag or container.

Cornbread 2