Sourdough and Cornbread Stuffing

This Saturday, we are exploring one of many ideas for #SourdoughThanksgiving. Last year, I made this rustic cornbread and sourdough stuffing, adapted from Taste of the South Magazine. But instead of sourdough cornbread, we made and used sourdough corn muffins and Abigail’s Oven Garlic Rosemary Sourdough Bread

Below is the recipe for Rustic Cornbread and Sourdough Stuffing, but following that are two more recipes you will need. The first is for the sourdough muffin recipe, and the second is for the bread recipe. You will need both to make this tasty stuffing, but you could skip making the sourdough bread and order Abigail’s Oven stuffing instead. This delicious stuffing mix is made with cross-sliced loaves of Country, Whole Wheat, Garlic Rosemary, County Seed, and sometimes even a slice or two makes it into our stuffing blend.

Rustic Cornbread and Sourdough Stuffing

Instructions

1. If cooking outside the bird, spray a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. If baking outside the bird, bake until the top is golden brown and the dressing is firm, approximately 1 hour at 350°F. If used as stuffing, it must be at least 165°F to be safe to eat.
3. Combine the sourdough and cornbread in a large bowl in or out of the bird.
4. On medium heat, sauté celery, green onion, and jalapeño in bacon fat until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Combine the sautéed celery, green onion, and jalapeño mixture into the bread mixture.
6. Crumble in bacon.
7. Separately, in a large bowl, whisk together eggs and broth.
8. Add eggs to the bread mixture, stirring gently to combine. Spoon into the prepared dish or stuff the bird with the dressing.

By the way, this recipe will more than fill your turkey so that you may be baking some both ways.

By the way, this recipe will more than fill your turkey so that you may be baking some both ways.

This recipe calls for four cups of cornbread crumbled, but I like muffins, which should work for stuffing just as well as cornbread. 

Now, let’s make the cornbread and sourdough bread you’ll need for this recipe.

Sourdough Cornbread Muffins

A cup of sourdough starter and two cups of whole-grain cornmeal and milk a day ahead will ensure a good ferment. The flavor magic is the two days it takes for the preferment to develop fully. This is the key to a superb corn flavor.

Also, researching this recipe, which was adapted from several sources, we found that all used baking powder and/or baking soda. We assume that cornmeal is less active than flour in the fermenting stage, so we have included this as an additional leavening agent, as many other bakers do.

Directions

Activate the Start

• Mix 1/3 cup sourdough starter with one cup of flour and 3/4 cup of tepid water the night before.
• Set it aside overnight in a warm place to ripen.

Long Firment

• In the morning (or at least 8 hours before you bake), combine one cup of start with cornmeal, flour, and milk. 
• Cover and set aside in a warm place for 8-24 hours to ferment.

Ready the Oven

• Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• If using cast iron, which is always preferred, grease each cup and place it in the oven to preheat. Otherwise, ready your muffin tin by greasing each cup as I did (see below).

Mixing the Dough

• Fry bacon until crisp. Set bacon aside, reserving two tablespoons of the bacon fat.
• Mix eggs, maple syrup, crumbled bacon, and bacon drippings (or melted butter). 
• Stir this into the fermented dough.
• Combine baking powder, salt, and soda; sprinkle this over the dough.
• Quickly stir all ingredients until well-mixed.
• Pour batter into muffin tin.
• Bake 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Serve warm or allow to cool before breaking into stuffing pieces.

* Always reserve a few tablespoons of start and feed it 1/3 cup flour and 1/4 cup water. Let this stand for 4 hours before placing the start in the fridge for subsequent use.

This delicious recipe offered a deep corn flavor that usually does not develop in quick cornbread. Sadly, two of the twelve muffins are already gone (who can blame us for trying them out). So I have had to hide them in the freezer until Thanksgiving so there will be enough.

Country Sourdough Bread

Instructions

Activate the Starter

Set it aside overnight in a warm place to ripen.

Mix 1/3 cup sourdough starter with one cup of flour and 3/4 cup of tepid water the night before.

Stir until all the flour has been combined

Long Ferment

1. Measure half a cup [120g} of active starter into a mixing bowl
2. Stir in two cups of room-temperature water. Stir to dissolve.
3. Mix in 4 cups [500g} of flour until it is well combined and sticky.
4. Set this mixture aside for 30 minutes, then add one Tbsp [18g] of salt and two Tbsp [30g] of additional water.  Stretch and fold the dough with wet hands by digging into one side and pulling the dough over itself in a fold. Turn the bowl and repeat three times.
5. Repeat stretches and folds every 30 minutes for three more times.
6. Set the dough aside, covered, for 8–12 hours until doubled in bulk (overnight is great)

Tensioning and Shaping the Dough

1. When doubled, dump the dough onto a floured surface to rest for 30 more minutes.
2. Flour your hands and shape the dough ( It is best to use as little flour at this point as possible).
3. To shape the dough, grab one end and fold it up in half. Then, use both hands to fold it over three more times, with a quarter rotation every time. 
4. Then, gather the dough, turning it seam down on your work surface. Using both hands, spin and shape the dough into a boule. 
5. Turn it seam down in a bowl with a cover for the final rise, which may take 45 minutes to an hour.

Ready the Oven

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
2. Preheat the Dutch oven if using cast iron (which is always preferred).
3. When it is doubled, score the top with a sharp knife and place it into a hot (450° F) preheated oven. Cover and bake for 30 min.
4. When golden brown, remove from heat, but leave bread in Dutch oven to cool for 2 hours.
5. Then slice and cube into 1-inch squares for stuffing.
   * Always reserve a few tablespoons of start and feed it 1/3 cup flour and 1/4 cup water. Let this stand for 4 hours before placing the start in the fridge for subsequent use.

Let us know how your sourdough and cornbread stuffing turned out. Was it baked in or out of the bird? Tell us about your #SourdoughThanksgiving in the comment section below.