Hopi Blue Corn Piki Bread

Name: Hopi Blue Corn Piki Bread
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Hopi Indigenous
Ingredients: 3 cups Finely ground blue cornmeal; 3 cups Water; 2 tbsp Culinary ash or ash-derived alkaline water; 0.25 tsp Salt

A paper-thin, rolled bread made from blue corn batter spread by hand on a hot stone, a Hopi ceremonial and everyday food.

🇺🇸United States· Arizona

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 30 min
Total: 60 min
Servings: 8
Difficulty: Hard
Calories: 90 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 4 gathered

Servings

3 cups Finely ground blue cornmeal
3 cups Water
2 tbsp Culinary ash or ash-derived alkaline water — traditionally from juniper or saltbush ash
¼ tsp Salt

Equipment

•Hot flat stone or well-seasoned griddle

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 90 kcal
fat: 1
carbs: 19
protein: 2
calories: 90

Instructions

1
Stir the culinary ash into warm water and let it settle. Use the clear liquid on top for mixing.
2
Whisk the blue cornmeal with the ash water until smooth and runny. The ash will turn the batter deep blue.
3
Heat a flat stone slab or heavy griddle until very hot. Rub it lightly with a little rendered fat or oil.
4
Quickly wipe a very thin layer of batter across the hot stone using your fingertips or a soft brush.
5
Cook for just a few seconds. Stop when the edges curl up and the sheet looks dry and see-through.
6
Gently peel the whole thin sheet off the hot stone using your fingertips.
7
Roll or fold the warm sheet right away while it is still soft and bendable.
8
Repeat with the rest of the batter. Stack the rolled piki (paper-thin blue corn bread) as you make them.

Chef's tips

This traditional method takes practice, and keeping the cooking stone very hot is the most important part. Use food-grade culinary ash made for cooking corn if you are new to this recipe.

Storage

Store rolled piki bread in a dry, airtight container for up to a week.

Reheating

Piki is traditionally eaten as-is at room temperature rather than reheated.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Using a stone that is not hot enough, which causes the batter to stick instead of releasing easily
•Spreading the batter too thick, which keeps it from becoming crisp and paper-thin