Hominy and Herbs

Loafgeek posted these masa slider buns right around the time I was putting a lot of polenta in my breads.  With corn already on the brain the wheels began turning.  A large amount of masa would wreak havoc on the sourdough loaf I was picturing, so what to do?  The first possibility to pop into my head was to make some fresh corn tortillas, chop them up and use them like an old-bread soaker.  It never happened.  That would be an awful lot of work just to test kind of a goofy idea.  Besides, fresh tortillas tend to get devoured and I wasn’t sure I could muster that kind of self-control.  So, the idea went on the back burner.

I must have looked at the can of hominy in the cupboard a hundred times before it dawned on me that this was the answer.  So simple!  The kernels are pretty big, so I gave them a light chopping before adding them to the dough. 

From there it was just a matter of deciding what other flavors to layer into the bread.  A little rye sour sounded like a good match, along with a little whole wheat.  Both were freshly ground and left slightly coarse.  Some kind of herb seemed like a good fit, too.  In the end I couldn’t decide which to use (it was a dead heat between thyme and rosemary) so I decided not to decide and instead wandered around the yard and picked a little of everything I could find.  Thyme, rosemary, sage and oregano were all looking good so they all went in, with the mix weighted toward the thyme and rosemary.

So, what began as kind of a lark turned out so tasty I keep going back to it.  The formula and method are below but, really, you could make this with just about any dough you like.  The herbs and sourdough really make it work for me.  Hominy tends to mellow other flavors, so without stronger flavors to play off it would probably be a fairly bland loaf.  With a bowl of tomato soup?  Magic!

Marcus