"limey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
"Dimitri" wrote in message >
Quoted message said:
I think there are several possibilities:
1. The oven pre-heating time might possibly have been
different.
2. The amount of time between mixing the dry and wet
ingredients and popping the pan in the oven may
have been different.
3. The age and dryness of the cornmeal in the 2
different boxes may
have
Quoted message said:been different.
4. The acidity (PH) of the buttermilk was different
thereby effecting
the
Quoted message said:rise.
Dimitri
1. The oven preheat time was the same. The beeper goes
off when it
reaches
Quoted message said:the desired heat and then batter goes immediately in the
oven. If there was a variation, it might have been in the
length of time I preheated the skillet. The second batch
certainly sizzled OK, though, when I poured in the batter.
2. I think the mixing of the wet/dry was about the same.
When I bake something which has baking powder and
baking soda in it, it goes in the oven posthaste.
3. The successful batch was made with old cornmeal. The
second was
with
Quoted message said:freshly bought, but obviously I don't know how long it sat
on the shelf.
4. I'm inclined to think the culprit is the buttermilk.
The sources were different. The first container was
fresh from the store that day. The second was a few
days old before I got around to it.
Dimitri, I really appreciate your responding. I know it's
such a little thing, but it's bugging me. I'd like to sort
out what happened before I bake cornbread again. Kind of
hurts the pride, you know?
Dora
I'm inclined to agree:
Dimitri
See Below:
A leaven is anything that produces bubbles in dough or
batter, causing baked goods to rise. Most breads rise
because of yeast, which works by fermenting sugar, which in
turn produces carbon dioxide. Baking soda and baking powder
are used to leaven quick breads, cookies, and muffins.
// U/ Baking soda is alkaline and reacts with acid to
create carbon dioxide bubbles that become trapped within
the batter. It's sometimes used in batters that contain
acidic ingredients, like buttermilk or molasses. //U/ If
there's not enough acid in the batter, the recipe will
instead call for baking powder, which combines baking soda
with one or more acidic salts. When the baking powder
becomes wet or sufficiently hot, the soda reacts with the
salts and releases bubbles. Air bubbles can also be trapped
in beaten egg whites, a technique used to leaven angel food
or sponge cakes.
