what to do with white corn flour ?

There is no difference between white and yellow cornmeal except the color. Use them the same as you would the other.

White and yellow corn meal are generally interchangeable, but corn flour is entirely different.

Corn flour is white, powdery and very fine. Corn meal is considerably coarser.

So now you have a packet of corn flour, try this:

SHORTBREAD.

             250 gms. soft butter

             125    "    icing sugar

             250    "    cornflour

             125    "    white flour

                            pinch salt.

Beat butter and icing sugar together until light and fluffy, add other ingredients sifted together.   Mix well and knead until it sticks together, then make into two rolls and chill in fridge until firm.  Cut into rounds and bake in slow oven (you will know your own 'slow' temp) and bake until lightly browned - about 20 minutes.

Cool (or not) before eating. Melted chocolate poured over the top is also very good.

I'm not sure which side of the pond you are on but there is often a lot of confusion on this site about "corn flour".

In America, when you use the term  "cornflour" people are actually referring to a fine, white flour made from just the endosperm (starchy) portion of the corn kernel. It is generally used as a thickener for sauces and pies. It turns translucent when cooked. Occasionally, a small amount  is used in a bread to increase tenderness or cookie recipe to offer crispness. It crisps beautifully in tempura batter. To be more confusing, people in America use the term "cornstarch" is used interchangeably with "cornflour". My belief is that may be because actual flour made from corn is rarely used in recipes here. A more coarsely ground corn meal is the most widely used ground corn used in limited recipes in the south and southwest. Masa Harina is an actual finely ground flour made from hominy corn (soaked in limewater to tenderize the tough outercoat).

In the UK, limited to my experience on this forum, "cornflour" is used to refer to actual, finely ground corn that has a consistency slightly more granular than all-purpose flour and can be either from white or yellow corn. Look here:

http://shop.honeyville.com/white-corn-flour-50lb.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw0K7NBRC7ARIsAEaqLRFaHpnJuKChKAx00pYjxQFBQt_YBRU7F3a51jAHuAMx7UG9TBpveFwaAhjeEALw_wcB

Honeyville's White Corn Flour is simply corn meal that's been milled even further to a fine flour. Corn flour comes in yellow and white and is generally used in combination with other flours for baked goods. It is milled from the whole kernel, unlike corn starch, which comes from the endosperm of the kernel. White Corn Flour blends well with other food ingredients and reduces gluten strength.

Synopsis:

Corn flour US- Corn starch (Why do we use "corn flour??)

Corn Flour UK- Finely ground corn (white or yellow) (Then what is corn starch called?)

Corn meal- granular ground corn of various sizes. Can be used for mushes, polenta-like dishes, coarse grained cakes,fry coatings, breads(no gluten)

Masa Harina- finely ground hominy corn used mainly for flat breads like tortillas and fry doughs, that I am aware of.

I am sure there are Asian and African corn flours I am not listing but this is the gist.

In regards to recipes:

As a bread additive, corn flour (finely ground  white or yellow corn) is usually an additive to a wheat based bread. Anadama Bread comes to mind most prominently.

I did not find many recipes when I googled "corn flour recipes" but found more when I searched "maize recipes".

So bake some delicious fun!

Well, I'm from the UK and I would say that just about everyone in the UK thinks of cornflour as a fine white powder generally used for thickening sauces.

The term corn starch (or is that cornstarch?) doesn't really exist in UK English parlance - and if it did, it would just be a further source of confusion!

Lance

Corn flour, corn starch, same same.

Tapioca flour/starch.

Potato flour/starch.

Pretty much all interchangeable.

at least around here!

Corn Flour (two words), also called Maize Flour (two words), is whole grain corn ground to a fine flour, essentially the equivalent of whole wheat flour.  Cornmeal (one word) is the coarsely ground whole grain corn, essentially the equivalent of rye meal.  Both cornmeal and corn flour can be found in white or yellow, depending on the strain of corn used.

Cornstarch (one word) is the extremely fine white powder that has all of the harder outer parts of the corn kernel removed.  It is used mostly for thickening sauces, or to add a softness to dough (used in small quantities).  It is called cornflour (one word) in the UK, and possibly in Australia and New Zealand as well.

You know, it's honestly amazing that anything manages to be communicated about baking, since even those of us supposedly using the same language aren't dealing with the same definitions of terms.  My deepest sympathies to those trying to translate to their own native language from the mess of English variations...

Personally, I blame the Americans for stuffing up the language and making everything confusing.

Not to mention having measurements in lb's and oz's, some antiquated type of measurement I assume. Come to think of it, the British (more commonly referred to as "Poms" in Aussie and NZ) seem to weigh themselves in stones. Do you weigh less if you use a small stone instead of a large one?

Cornflour or corn flour or maize flour or starches or powders...

So lets confuse the issue even further by introducing "Wheaten Cornflour" - here's the link: https://www.gffoodservice.com.au/product/fielders-wheaten-cornflour/

At the end of the proverbial day they are all more or less the same thing - something you can use to thicken a liquid and to bake with and cook with.

And there's another one on page 69 here: http://hbctrading.com.au/wp-content/pdf/ProductCatalogue-new.pdf 

Yep, Purple Corn Powder. I suspect that it isn't such a good superfood as there are a distinct lack of Incas around these days.

Now please, no one start foaming at the mouth about all this.

Well, I'm a Pom; I do all my baking in metric, but I must admit, I weigh myself in stones and lbs! (One stone = 14lbs)

Also there's not much hope for this thread as it seems that even those in the USA can't agree what cornflour/corn flour is!

Lance

but I can also buy "cornmeal flour" which is very similar to wheaten cornflour, just a little grainier.  I even have some in the pantry!and it is yellow compared to the white wheaten cornflour.:)

Leslie

Leslie

I can see the rest less baker sitting in front of their computer reading all this and thinking, while munching on some shortbread, "All I wanted to know was what to do with a packet of something that I accidently bought".

So did anyone try the shortbread recipe?

By the way, Purple Corn Powder isn't much use in baking, although you can get slightly purple coloured shortbread if you chuck a bit in.

works well.  Haven't tried this recipe though.  Purple shortbread would be a bit of fun, especial for kids!

Leslie

a great glue for papermache.  Dissolve in about 10x water and slowly bring to a boil.  Best done in the oven if not wanting to watch the pot.  Wall paper paste.  

Get some people ages 5 to 100, some balloons and string, and a pile of old newspapers and magazines.  Save the glossy photos and gift paper for the last layer of paper and stick on at least 3 layers.   Watch the fun.  I dare you not to get your hands in it.  Hang up to dry.  

if you are making a cake, about one third constarch to 2/3 AP is a good place to start.  A ratio of one to two.  Try it in your next jelly roll.  This substitution is a great way to lighten up pancakes as well as anything else as it lowers the overall gluten content.  

Despite all the discussion, I suspect there are still some people who think corn flour and corn starch are the same thing.  They are not, although they are both finely granulated maize.

Corn flour, at least in the U.S., is a product of dry milling.  It typically has 8-9% protein.  It available both whole grain and refined.  It's usually not found in grocery stores, except in the little bags from Bob's Red Mill.  It will make a finer-grained cornbread than the gritty, crumbly cornbread made from the coarser cornmeal.  It will make a superior pancake when made from a genuine flour corn, not a dent corn (although sieving the first break of a dent corn will tolerably isolate the soft endosperm).

Corn starch is a product of wet milling, which involves steeping, centrifuging, and washing.  It is well under 1% protein.  It is widely available.  It is a superior thickener to corn flour.

It is clearly labeled Cornflour (one word) and is written in English and Thai.  Produced by Knorr.  Bagged by Unilever.  No protein information.  Says 100% Corn Flour (two words) and contains Sulphite.  Very fine and pressing the bag feels starchy/crunchy the way starch feels inside a thick plastic bag.

Suggestions for use:  

"Perfect for all the good foods you can cook, as a thickener, as a batter for frying or for marinating meat.

Batter for frying: Mix 3 Tbs Cornflour with 1/2 cup water.  Add one egg yolk.  Dip food in batter and fry.

Marinating: Sprinkle Cornflour on meat and allow time to absorb before cooking.

Keep in a cool dry place and always use a dry spoon."

I got 700g of the stuff....  also purchased ... by accident?   So what is it?  Starch or flour?  (try not to smile)

I'm mixing up a batch of cgap shortbread with unsalted butter and a generous pinch of salt.  Easy to remember ...  butter and cornstarch are 250g,  white wheat flour and sugar 125g each.  

Edit:  After mixing up the dough and shaping into 4 equal sized round logs and chilling them,  I finally got some time and energy to cut up and bake one of the logs.  I used a sushi knife. (this time) and placed  the cookies close together on parchment in a shiny pan.  140°C  20min bake.  

Very good, an excellent little cookie but very sweet.  For us, closer to candy than a cookie.  putting jam between them would make them too sweet to eat and it was the sweetness that finally stopped us from eating them all.  

They changed very little during the bake so what you shape and see before the bake, stays.   Every nick, bump and bulge.  Could space half an inch apart or one finger between each cookie without any problems.   

We do prefer a less sweet shortbread so I am tempted to reformulate the rest of the dough adding more flour and butter.

We may allow you to visit Aussie as it seems you can improvise to overcome the lack of a cheese wire.

Dental floss should give a better cut than string I would think. So long as it's not mint flavoured, or maybe it won't matter.

in a cake recipe.  Here is an example:  With too much gluten, the cake was rubbery and hard.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/comment/128468#comment-128468

That looks way too fine to be anything but corn starch. Great for pudding or tempura or cookies but only as a portion of the flour in bread or other baked goods. It only adds a starchy gel texture to bread by decreasing the gluten-to-starch ratio in the crumb.

A good analogy regarding cornstarch,gluten and bread is this. Think of blowing bubbles. The ring of the bubble wand is a gluten protein that acts as a framework to hold the edges of the soap bubble.The bubble can then be blown up and filled with air/steam/co2 to aerate the dough. The gluten framework is tough and chewy so the more gluten the chewier the product. The soap bubble is made from the starchy gel provided by the starchy portion of any flour  (corn,wheat,potato,tapioca,etc.). A flour made from a whole grain has a ratio of gluten and starch to produce the proper crumb for the product-bread,cake,pudding,gravy. All purpose flour has less gluten/more starch than bread flour but is engineered to have enough gluten to make an adequate bread (not too chewy or lofty) or an adequate cake (tender enough but not very tender).

Adding starch makes a tenderer/less chewy product but there is a point of diminishing return. Too much starch and you have a gummy texture without enough support to blow bubbles to aerate the dough. More like a pudding or steamed bread.

It is the terminology that is confusing. There is a difference between wheat flour and wheat starch, potato flour and potato starch, tapioca flour and tapioca starch and corn flour and corn starch. Different products that behave differently and are not 100% interchangeable.

Re:Purple corn

It is called Blue Corn and is a genetic variation. Corn comes in all different color-red,blue,golds,oranges and browns. They just are not widely cultivated. The flour is the same color as the corn. However, I suspect the starchy portion is either white or very lightly colored. Just to be accurate. :)

Well, seems to me we have a test here.  Mix some of the floury substance with water and pour onto a medium warm fry pan.  If it turns clear, then it's pure starch.  If it remains cloudy, it's "flour."  

another tray of shortbread and they get better with age.  Found the rolled up dough sorting out the refrigerator.  It's a twist on the classic 1,2,3 shortbread... (weights)  one part sugar two parts butter and three parts flour&starch....  

Thanks again,  Mini   :)