Cornbread with Scallions & Bacon

By Addie

Skillet-baked cornbread is a classic, and for good reason: pouring the batter into a searing-hot skillet greased with hot fat, then baking, makes for a beautifully golden-brown, crisp crust.

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 oz. (1 cup) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup corn oil
• 8 scallions (white and light green parts only), trimmed and thinly sliced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 thick slices bacon

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oven to 400ºF. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, honey, egg, corn oil, scallions, and 2 grinds black pepper until well combined. In a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron), cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Spoon off all but about a tablespoon of the bacon fat from the skillet. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until the ingredients are just blended. Crumble the bacon and fold it in; don’t overmix.

Pour the batter into the hot skillet and bake until the top is golden brown, firm, and springy to the touch, 20 to 25 min.; a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 min. Turn out onto a rack or serve in the pan, warm or at room temperature.

This cornbread has a moist, tender crumb. It gets a nice crisp crust in a cast-iron skillet.