Something Unusual

I've been trying to think of a "bread" that would go well with chili. I usually use Fritos, which I think are great in chili, but it seemed some sort of bread should work. But what? Crackers? Bread sticks? It would be best if it was quick to make, so you don't have to plan ahead too much.

The other evening in the shower, an idea just emerged from nowhere, simply appearing in my head. Scoop out some sourdough starter from the fridge, mix in self-rising cornmeal mix and water, and cook it kinda like a pancake.



Tonight we had vegetable beef soup, but had no good bread, so I decided to try it.

Roughly, it was 1/2 cup starter, maybe 1 1/2 c self-rising buttermilk cornmeal mix, enough water to make it about like pancake batter, a pinch of salt, about 1/2 tsp baking soda, a tsp of sugar, and maybe 2 tbsp of powdered cheese. I didn't measure though, so that's all an estimate. We heated a skillet with about a tablespoon of bacon grease to 375°, and dumped it all in. It cooked like a pancake, browning and setting on the edges as bubbles slowly formed. Gave it a flip, cooked the other side, then slid it out and buttered both sides.

I thought it was a little underdone in the middle, so would try 350° next time. It tasted pretty good, a lot like cornbread sticks, and not very noticeably sourdough. The kids liked it a lot. I think next time I'll try shredded cheese instead of powdered, because the powder was lumpy, and I'm not big on keeping ingredients like that stocked in my home. My husband suggested jalapenos.

A Hoe Cake or Johnny Cake is a cornbread flat-bread kind of thing. A flapjack is a sourdough pancake. So what is this? A Jack Cake?  Or maybe a Flap John? I'll have to try it again, next time my sourdough starter needs to be "fed", and I don't want to make sourdough bread.