Quinoa Skillet Bread

I think instead of Julie & Julia I am cooking my way through the 101 cookbooks website. This past weekend I skimmed through all of her recipes and planned out my meals for the week. I made homemade vegetable soup and also made this Quinoa Skillet bread to go with it. It was very hearty, delicious, and easy to make. My easy trick to making vegetable soup is roasting any vegetables I have (and I mean any) in the oven with a little olive oil and salt and pepper for about an hour. Then I add a container of chicken stock in a pot of the vegetables and immersion blend it together. Add one container of creme freiche (creme freiche makes everything taste amazing) and voila amazing homemade soup. Here is the recipe for Quinoa Skillet Bread.

butter to grease pan, about 1 tablespoon
1 cup / 4 oz / 115g whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup / 4 oz / 115 g yellow cornmeal (coarse)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs (optional)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups / 7 oz / 200 g cooked quinoa, room temperature*
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, barely melted and cooled a bit
3 tablespoons natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 cups / 475 ml milk
1 1/2 tablespoons white or white wine vinegar
1 cup / 240 ml heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350F / 180 C degrees and place a rack in the top third. Butter a 10-inch oven-proof skillet (or equivalent baking dish). I used a cast-iron pan with 2-inch deep sides. Roughly ten minutes before you are ready to bake the skillet bread, while you are mixing the batter, place the skillet in the hot oven.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and dried herbs.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, quinoa, and melted butter until well-blended. Add the sugar, salt, milk and vinegar and stir again. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until the batter comes together. It will seem very thin, don't worry.

Pour the batter into the heated skillet. Pour the heavy cream into the center of the batter. Have faith, and do not stir. Carefully place in the oven and check after 45 minutes, the skillet bread is done when the top becomes lightly browned and the center just set. Somewhere between 45-60 minutes typically. I like to finish things up with a few seconds under the broiler to brown the top nicely. You can serve this I like this warm or at room temperature, sliced in a grid, sprinkled with a touch more salt (if needed).