- 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a well-seasoned 9- to 9 1/2-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven to heat. Stir together the cornmeal, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk.
Remove the hot skillet from the oven and add the butter, swirling gently to coat the bottom and sides of the skillet. Whisk the melted butter into the buttermilk mixture. Return the skillet to the oven.
Stir the cornmeal mixture into the buttermilk just until moistened. (Don’t overmix, a few lumps are OK.) Scrape the batter into the hot skillet, return to the oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden. Invert the skillet over a platter and cool bread for a few minutes before serving.
Yield: 6 to 8 wedges.
From “A Real Southern Cook In Her Savannah Kitchen,” by Dora Charles (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Over the years, as cornbread mixes caught on, many cornbreads got lighter, with a softer texture.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Adjust racks to the upper and lower positions.
Cook the bacon in an 8- or 9-inch cast-iron skillet until it is crisp and fat is rendered. Pour the fat into an heat-proof glass measuring cup; you’ll need about 1/3 cup. (If you need more, cook a little more bacon.) Set the bacon aside for another use, or crumble it to add to the cornbread. Return the skillet to the oven.
Stir together the cornmeal, flour and sugar in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the buttermilk and water and mix well. Add the eggs and mix well.
Add 2 tablespoons bacon fat to the hot skillet and roll it around to coat the pan. Mix the remaining bacon fat into the cornbread batter. Add the crumbled bacon if you’re using it. Pour the batter into the hot skillet and place in the oven on the lower rack. Bake about 20 minutes, until just set.
Remove from oven and rub the top generously with the butter. Serve hot, cut in wedges.
Yield: 6 servings.
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