Indian Meal Johnny Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dough
In a bowl, combine 1 quart of Indian meal with a little salt.
Scoop out some meal from the center and pour in enough warm water to form a firm dough.
Knead the dough and roll it to about 1 inch thick.
Cook and serve
Place the cake on a well-buttered griddle over medium heat.
Toast the cake on both sides until golden brown.
Serve immediately, split and buttered.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Indian meal
- Forms the body of the cake; its starch absorbs water and sets into a firm structure when heated.
- Warm water
- Hydrates the meal so it binds into a dough that can be shaped and rolled.
- Butter
- Greases the griddle and promotes golden browning and rich flavour on the cake's surface.
The step that matters
Adding the warm water. Cornmeal needs enough water to hydrate fully and bind into a firm dough. Too little leaves it crumbly and hard to roll, while too much makes it sticky and dense.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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