A simple delicious savory cornbread recipe that is perfect with savory and sweet combinations. It really does taste like corn, and here's why: there's no added sugar, flour, or other bells and whistles included in Northern cornbread recipe. This is simply cornmeal, salt, leavenings, eggs, buttermilk, and your preferred type of grease. It's beautiful as it is, and baking it in a piping hot cast iron gives it an amazing flavor and variety of textures!
The original recipe, which I modified, is from Souther Chef Sean Brock: http://www.foodthinkers.com/skillet-cornbread/
The recipe is here, and pictures of the process are below:
Ingredients:
For 10" skillet:
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (376 g)
1 large egg (55-60 g)
2 cups coarse yellow cornmeal (should see the individual grains) (324 g)
1 tsp. salt (5 g)
1 tsp. baking powder (4 g)
1 tsp. baking soda (4 g)
8 Tbsp. fresh lard (traditional), or 4 Tbsp. oil (56 g) and 4 Tbsp. (56 g) salted butter (what I use)
For 5" skillet:
3/4 cups buttermilk (188 g)
1 egg (~56 g)
1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal (should see the individual grains) (162 g)
1/2 tsp. salt (2.5 g)
1/2 tsp. baking powder (2 g)
1/2 tsp. baking soda (2 g)
4 Tbsp. fresh lard (traditional), or 2 Tbsp. oil (28 g) and 2 Tbsp. (28 g) salted butter (what I use)
Notes: for denser cornbread use half the amount of baking soda and powder. For the 5" skillet recipe I used 1 large egg and it turned out fine. So you can probably use 2 in the 10" recipe.
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 500°F, or as high as it will go. Place the cast iron on the second to highest shelf to preheat.
In a bowl, place cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
In a larger bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg until completely mixed.
When the cast iron is preheated, remove from the oven. and work quickly through the next 3 steps.
Mix the cornmeal mixture into wet ingredients. Then add your lard/butter and oil mixture to the cast iron. It will melt quickly.
Quickly pour half the lard/butter+oil mixture into your batter and mix in quickly.
Then pour all the batter into the cast iron (it ill bubble up at the sides and that's okay), and return to the oven.
Bake about 10-15 minutes, or until cornmeal is set and slightly browned on edges and golden on top.
Let cool about 5-10 minutes in the pan, and then remove and serve fresh (recommended). I love it with butter and honey. Keep any leftovers covered at room temperature up to 2 days.
Here is how I made it:
All the ingredients I used.
Prep all the ingredients. WHisk dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in a second bowl, and in the measuring cup is my prepared butter and oil.
A close up on the cornmeal mixture so you can see how fine it is.
The skillet is hot, so time to quickly make this batter!
Quickly mix the wet into the dry ingredients.
Add the butter and oil to the pan, it will melt quickly.
Pour half the melted mixture from the cast iron into the batter.
After mixing half the melted butter+ oil in. Next we'll quickly pour this into the pan.
Batter is poured (dark parts are browned butter) and it's ready to put pack into the hot oven!
While baking.
After baking! Looks like the sun (and feels as hot!)
Up close and beautiful!
Perfect :D
The bottom is golden and not burnt! a piece stuck to the pan but I squished it back in place :)
Golden on the edges too :)
Serve and enjoy! Amazing!!! Especially with honey and butter.