This season, my garden has produced an abundant amount of organic culinary sage. After harvesting, I made many fresh sage wraps for smudging, and still had enough left to dry for the kitchen. This allowed me to use what was left in my cooking. I have also been researching ways to use my sourdough discard. There is something that feels off to me each time I throw half of my precious starter away. This is a great way to combine the bounty of sage from the garden, and the sourdough discard. Using what resources are provided to create a delicious and nurturing bread.
Working with what the garden provides is a great way to connect with the land and with our ancestors who cooked and ate this way before grocery stores were more common. In the past, we ate with the seasons and used the herbs the garden provided for cooking and medicine. Sage is one of these medicinal herbs and is packed with many healing and medicinal purposes. It is loaded with antioxidants, has antimicrobial properties, boosts cognition, and aids in digestion. Its benefits acting as an antimicrobial are most intriguing, as sage is traditionally burned to clear the air in smudging, thus showing that its medicinal properties mirror this internal purpose too. Cleansing us inward as well as outward.
Corn, just like sage is another food that has been made into bread and other edible sources for many generations. It is naturally gluten-free so it is great for those following a gluten-free diet. The flour I used in this recipe is Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Blend, and the starter I used is gluten-free and you can purchase it here.
This cornbread can be served warm with grass-fed butter or ghee and tastes great in the morning with fresh scrambled eggs or just eaten alone as a snack.
Ingredients:
2 eggs, or flax eggs for vegan
1/2c milk of choice, I used oat. If using dairy, buttermilk would work great with this recipe!
1/4c honey
2tbsp or 1 stick grass-fed butter, vegan butter, or ghee
2tbsp coconut oil
1/3-1/2c sourdough discard
1tsp organic vanilla extract
1/2c organic cornmeal, I used blue corn
1 1/2c Gluten-free flour blend
1tsp organic dried rubbed sage
2tsp aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 baking soda
1/2tsp mineral salt
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 10″ cast iron skillet or line an 8×8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
2. Melt down butter and coconut oil to liquid and set aside.
3. Combine eggs, honey, vanilla, milk, sourdough discard, and vanilla extract.
4. Add the butter and coconut to the liquids above.
5. In a separate bowl, combine cornmeal, gluten-free flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, and mineral salt.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry, and mix well
7. Pour into a well-greased 10″ cast iron skillet or an 8×8-inch square baking pan lined in parchment.
8. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes
Enjoy!
Annie Rosenberg 