Use your homemade cornmeal to make biscotti, bread, cobbler and more.
Cornmeal has an interesting history. It dates back to the 1500s when American explorers and settlers saw Native Americans drying their corn to be used as cornmeal throughout the winters. Blue cornmeal played a significant role in the lives of the Hopi Indians--in weddings, long journeys and the naming ceremonies of infants. Today, cornmeal is used in many tasty dishes, including pancakes, pizza crust, waffles, cookies, polenta--a boiled cornmeal dish--and pie crust. It's incredibly easy to make your own cornmeal using dried corn kernels. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Remove the husk and as much silk as possible from the corn cobs.
2. Cut the corn off of the cob. Six ears of corn will equal about 2 cups dried corn.
3. Place a large piece of foil on a baking sheet. Spray a light layer of nonstick cooking spray on the foil to prevent the kernels from sticking.
4. Spread the corn kernels out on the baking sheet.
5. Place the baking sheet on the middle oven rack, and set the oven to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Shake the baking sheet every two hours to ensure the kernels are not sticking to the tray or one another. The drying process will take about 12 hours, depending on the size of the kernels and how moist they are. Every two hours, when you shake the tray, notice what the kernels look like. The kernels are done when they shrink, harden and become a deep golden brown color.
7. Place the cooled corn into a lunch-size paper bag. Leave the corn in the bag to thoroughly dry for one week.
8. Store the corn in an air-tight food container until ready to grind. Dried corn will stay fresh indefinitely when kept in the air-tight container and stored in a dark, dry space.
Tags: baking sheet, corn kernels, corn will, dried corn