1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, whole spelt flour, whole einkorn flour, or your favorite GF baking mix (I like Jovial Foods whole grain GF pastry flour)
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground*
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup buttermilk**
½ cup melted unsalted butter (1 stick) or coconut oil or olive oil
2 large eggs***
3 Tablespoons mild-flavored honey or pure maple syrup
1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and finely chopped****
Optional: 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used Organic Pastures raw cheddar)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease an 8 x 8-inch baking dish (I usually dip a pastry brush in the melted butter I’m using in the recipe and grease the pan that way.)
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl or a blender, combine buttermilk, melted butter, eggs and honey until well blended. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in the poblano pepper. Using an ice cream scooper, divide the batter into the muffin pan or pour it into the prepared pan.
Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Or bake the cornbread in the 8 x 8 pan for 30-35 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack before removing muffins from the pan.
Notes
*If you like a more tender, less grainy cornbread, increase flour by ½ cup and decrease cornmeal by ½ cup.
**Or ½ cup whole unsweetened yogurt + ½ cup milk of choice. Or 1 cup dairy-free milk + 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
***Or 2 Tablespoons ground flax meal mixed with 6 Tablespoons warm water. Allow to sit 10-15 minutes. And then allow batter to sit 5-10 minutes before baking.
****Char the poblano pepper over a gas flame or 6 inches under the broiler until just blackened on all sides. Place in a bowl and cover for 15 minutes. Peel, seed and finely chop. This can be done 1-2 days in advance.
Recipe by Pamela Salzman at https://pamelasalzman.com/super-bowl-green-chile-cheese-cornbread/