Traditional Cherokee bean bread is boiled, not baked. Most commonly served alongside hearty soups and stews, it’s also a satisfying plant-based main dish paired with a seasonal salad. Our thanks to chef Nico Albert, a member of Cherokee Nation, for sharing this bread with us.
PREP
45 mins
BAKE
45 mins
TOTAL
4 hrs
YIELD
15 individual bean breads
Ingredients
- 1 cup (185g) dried beans, (any medium-sized beans, such as pinto or black beans, are fine)
- 8 cups (1816g) water
- 4 1/4 cups (396g) King Arthur Organic Masa Harina
- 2 teaspoons table salt
- 20 to 25 dried corn husks, soaked in hot water to soften
Instructions
- To cook the beans: Place the beans and water in a 3-quart saucepan.
- Bring the beans to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer, then cover and cook for about 2 hours, adding water as needed if the water level falls below the top of the beans. Cooking time will vary depending on the freshness and type of bean used, so if they’re not tender after 2 hours, continue to cook and taste every 15 to 30 minutes until they’re creamy all the way through.
- When the beans are tender remove them from the heat and set aside. Beans may be prepared the night before and refrigerated in their broth overnight if desired; reheat the beans and broth to a simmer before preparing the bread.
- To make the bean bread: In a large mixing bowl, combine the masa harina and salt.
- Strain the cooked beans, reserving their liquid.
- Add the beans to the masa mixture and gently stir until evenly distributed.
- Add 2 1/2 cups (568g) of the reserved hot bean broth to the bowl. Fold the mixture together until all the flour is incorporated and a uniform, sticky dough forms; it should be about the consistency of chocolate chip cookie dough. If needed, add extra broth a few tablespoons at a time until the desired texture is achieved.
- Fill a large pot (at least 7 to 8 quarts) about three-quarters of the way full of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat while shaping the breads.
- Use your hands to scoop about 1/3 cup (94g) portions of the lukewarm dough. Shape the dough into balls and flatten slightly into ovals about 3” wide x 1” thick.
- Wrap each bread in a corn husk, folding the husk around it on all sides to completely enclose it. If the husks are on the small side, use two husks per bread to ensure all sides are covered.
- Pull a thin strip from another corn husk and tie it around the bread to secure the wrapper. Use kitchen twine if the strips of corn husk prove difficult.
- Repeat with the remaining breads.
- Carefully place the breads into the pot of boiling water. Allow the water to come back to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer the breads, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Check for doneness by removing a bread from the water and carefully pulling back the husk; if the husk pulls away from the bread easily, it’s done. If the husk sticks to the bread, it needs a little more time.
- When the breads are cooked, drain off the water and allow the breads to drain and cool a bit before serving.
- Storage information: Store breads, wrapped individually in corn husks (to prevent them from sticking together), in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week; freeze for longer storage.
1 cup of cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbs sugar
2 cups milk
1/4 cup melted shortening
1 beaten egg
2 Tbs honey
4 cups drained brown beans
Mix all of these ingredients, except beans, thoroughly, and then fold in the beans. Pour into greased, heated pan. Bake at 450F until brown (usually 30 minutes or so)
Aggie Lossiah: “Sure, corn meal is the main part of bean bread. Corn meal is the main part of the food eaten by us Indians. Beans are used too. If you folks will visit with me for a while, I’ll show you how bean bread ought to be made. How my old Cherokee granny made it when we lived in that cave on the Tennessee River, only I have a few pots and pans like my old granny never had. Maybe I’ll give you a a taste of some that I cooked yesterday, if you want it. You passed my corn patch yonder, as you came up the mountain. That’s flour corn, the best kind to eat. Right in that patch is where I gathered this corn I’m going to use. I’ll set the beans to cooking here by the fire in the fireplace whilst we go out to the branch to skin the corn. First, pour some water into this iron pot here over the fire. Sift in some good wood ashes. Pour in the shelled corn. Stir once in a while and let cook until the bubbles begin to come up. Take out a grain to test it with the fingers, to see if the skin is ready to slip. That is the way we tell if it has been in the lye water long enough. Wash the corn in a basket sieve to get rid of the skins. Put the corn into the wooden beater (Ka-No-Na ) and beat it with a heavy piece of wood. Yes, use the little end; the big end is to give weight. Feel the meal to see if it is fine enough. The hot beans and their soup are poured into the pan of meal, No, leave out the salt. Work quickly so the mixture will not get cold. Work the mixture into a ball. Flatten the ball because we are making “broadswords” as my granddaddy called them. Wrap the corn blades around the dumpling. The blades were pulled green and hung up by the little end to dry, then scalded to make limber. Fold the ends under to hold or tie with a strong grass. We’ll cook these in the iron pot out by the branch. The clear water I left out there should be boiling by now. The bean dumplings will have to boil about an hour.” Do no put any salt in Bean Bread or it will crumble.
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