Cornbread, by popular demand!

Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes and Honest Fried Chicken: The Heart and Soul of Southern Country Kitchens, by Ronni Lundy is one of my favorite cookbooks. It was one of the first that I ever bought and looking at it when I am melancholy can make me feel better. Simple recipes with hard hitting no-nonsense ingredients make up this book that is recipes, old photographs, stories and song lyrics that reference the very family recipes compiled in it. There are four entries for corn, four for cornbread, three for cornmeal  and one alone for corn muffins.

The first recipe in the bread section is for Real Cornbread and the first line reads:

"If God had meant for cornbread to have sugar in it, he'd have called it cake."

Proof that I am a Northerner I like my cornbread a little sweet. I like a dash of brown or raw sugar just to back up the sweetness inherant in the corn. But you can do what you want just don't argue with me!

This recipe is too simple. The other day I made it for a breakfast date and it took about 12 minutes to put together & 40 to bake in my tempermental oven. Please note that depending on the all purpose flour you're using and if you want to push the limits and increase the cornmeal, you may need more buttermilk.

Please understand that a recipe is a guide. There are few "recipes" out there that  are THE recipe, you know? If you substitute the butter with bacon fat, mmmmmm, or duck fat just know that you may get a cornbread that is so tender it will have the body of someone who has just had a two hour massage. Tastes great, but may not come out of the pan in a cohesive manner.

CORNBREAD

1 cup Anson Mills cornmeal
1 cup flour, all purpose
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup sugar, brown or raw
1 teaspoon baking soda, sift
¾ cup buttermilk
1 each egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

preheat oven to 350°
generously butter a 9” cake pan or various pans
mix all dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk to create a well in the center
in a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk and egg
melt butter (rendered bacon fat &/or duck fat can be substituted)
pour buttermilk mixture into the well of the dries all at once, mix this with a spatula/wooden spoon until almost completely incorporated
while mixing gently, add melted butter just until batter is uniform
pour into pan (s): batter should make the pan 1/2 to 3/4 full
bake until skewer or small sharp knife inserted in the middle comes out clean and sides have pulled away from the pan, approximately 30 minutes
when done baking, put pan on cooling rack for 5 minutes. then turn cornbread out of pan and cool completely before slicing
Cornbread will keep, unrefrigerated for about 4 days
Delicious eaten toasted with honey-butter, pan sautéed, with stewed greens, crumbled into soup, and dunked in cold buttermilk...

If you cannot get your hands on Anson Mills cornmeal (I ordered Yellow Coarse), please please find yourself a bulk section that has fresh organic cornmeal. I made this yesterday in a standard bread pan, but it's nice in your blacker than black cast iron skillet, (make sure that it has been sitting in the oven for a spell before the batter goes in, or it's the pan that the sizzling bacon just came out of), or cake pans. Really it depends on the ratio of interior to exterior you desire!

Comments

[megwoo]

Thanks Shuna,
Your recipe sounds delicious! I will be making it with duck fat AND bacon sometime soon...

[Dr. Biggles]

Hey Shuna,

TAG, I'm it. Just called Taylor and am going to pick up some lard tomorrow at the farmer's market. I got a recipe for corn bread NOBODY GOTS !!!!!!

Watch out, here I come.

[Kudzu]

Oh, you Yankee. Sugar in cornbread. Feh! And I see you made it in a loaf pan -- something that never happens where I ate hot bread once or twice a day. Round iron skillets, pie pans, muffin tins, square pans, okay....However, I applaud your using honest cornmeal and I also like it that you're spreading the word about this elemental treat....A sure cure for insomnia: hot corn bread broken into a deep cup or glass of milk, spooned up like cereal...Glad you agree about Lundy, a patron saint.

[Dr. Biggles]

Okay, well, I failed. I made two different batches of corn bread yesterday and tossed them both. I'll be posting the results up on Meathenge soon. I'm going to use YOUR recipe. And I'm going to use a cast iron skillet rubbed with lard! YEAH !!!

Senior Biggles

[Dixieday]

Hey there Shuna--you inspired to pull down my copy of Lundy's book (an old favorite I haven't used since I moved to the big bad city) and whip up some cornbread for breakfast! It's in the oven right now....I was happy to see her trick of getting a great crust--you put the fat into your skillet, get it really hot in the oven, swirl it around to grease and then dump the hot fat into the batter, followed by pouring the batter into the hot pan. Will report back! I used her recipe of all cornmeal (no flour) but got a little Yankee at the end and swirled in some honey.

[Anne]

First let me say I am neither chef nor cook. Food fascinates me, as does superb writing and photography -- hence my gleeful daily checking of my eggbeater bookmark.

Lately I've been cooking up a storm. It's challenging in a not-too-suspenseful way, plus my partner just loves it. I've never enjoyed cooking for anyone before.

Two nights ago I made Shuna's cornbread. Just amazing! On his first bite, Tyler literally threw his head back in ecstasy.

I never knew I could bake anything like this.

I used the 3 tbs butter and organic cornmeal from a Whole Foods-type market. I couldn't find my sifter, so I ground the baking powder between my fingers! It went beautifully with my chipotle meatloaf and roasted broccoli.

Thank you, Shuna!

[Luisa]

Fantastic - thanks for pointing this out to me. It looks delicious, can't wait to try it!

[Zeynep Moroglu]

Hi Shuna,

Want to make the cornbread but have no buttermilk down in Istanbul... what can I do to get the same effect? Put some lemon or vinegar in whole milk or? Thank you so much.

Z

[shuna fish lydon]

Zeynep,

I'm jealous. Wish I were in Istanbul.

Maybe water down some yogurt? Yes, you could sour some milk but it will take a day or two depending on the ambient heat of your kitchen, to sour it to the needed place.

Please come back and let us know how it worked out... thanks!

[Zeynep Moroglu]

Hello again Shuna,

Well anytime you want you are more than welcome here!!! Well I mixed a bit apple cider vinegar into whole milk and got my buttermilk... But the I have to adjust the recipe I think as it turned out very very dense... Thank you so much..

[msmarmitelover]

Thanks for this Shuna, I'm doing an Elvis night this friday and will use your recipe...I even found buttermilk...x

MsMarmiteLover!! This sounds like an amazing dinner-- good on you! Are you making banana bread too? Let me know-- I have a great recipe I used in London...x ~ shuna

[johanna]

thank you for this recipe and tip on this southern cookbook which i've just ordered from amazon. the cornbread came out amazing. we did it with bob's coarse cornmeal and baked it in a buttery cast iron skillet. am already excited to eat some more for breakfast tomorrow!