Vegan Corn Bread

Like corn bread, but lacking the eggs and diary products. As reported by Cook’s Illustrated and other sources.

Preheat oven to 400˚F.
Mix the following dry ingredients well, especially to spread the baking powder out. The ratio of corn meal to flour can be varied.

1½ cup Yellow stone-ground corn meal (blue corn meal is too weird)
½ cup whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons double acting baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Make a depression in the dry ingredients—there is no need to double the number of dirty bowls—and pour in:

1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon or less apple cider vinegar
¼ cup vegetable oil - I use grape seed oil
¼ cup maple syrup (Grade B) or brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground flax seed, mixed well in 6 tablespoons water. Heating the water slightly may better help the flax seed to adhere to itself, though could make things too sticky.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients until just blended—that is, as little as possible.
Let batter stand for at least 15 minutes. This lets the baking powder rise the dough. If the batter is left to stand longer, cover and refrigerate. I have not tested longer or refrigerated rises.
Coat an 8" cast iron pan with a small amount of coconut oil.

Non-stick pans wear out too frequently, and end up in the dump. Cast iron cookware lasts for generations, and eliminates any chance of teflon toxicity problems. I actually use a specialized cornbread wedge pan. This pan requires a second run with the remainder of the batter.

Let the pan preheat in the oven for several minutes to help melt the coconut oil. Preheating the pan better browns the cornbread.
Spoon batter into pan and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out by-and-large dry on insertion. Cooking time depends on the oven; ~25 minutes in my oven gives it a nice crisp crust without being overdone.

Serve warm, with honey, a fruit spread, or by itself. Leftovers can be sealed in a tin container and stored at room temperature for at most a few days.