Cornbread [MERGED TOPIC]

[Suvir Saran]

What should a skillet baked Corn Bread taste like?

What should it be made with?

Is there a near perfect recipe? Where should I go looking for it?

What are the essentials for a good Corn Bread?

[Cheffie3]

My dad makes the best cornbread I've ever tasted. Its' cooked in a cast iron skillet and has double, no triple the amount of butter called for in the recipe. It's basically the recipe on the back of the Aunt Jemina buttermilk corn meal.

Here's the recipe from the back of the package:

3 Tbs vegetable shortening/oil/or drippings

2 cups AJ Self Rising Buttermilk Corn Meal Mix

1-2 Tablespoons sugar (optional)

1 1/2 cups milk

1 egg beaten

Heat oven to 425, heat oil in 10 inch skillet, combine dry ingredients, add milk and egg, mix until blended, add melted oil, mix well, pour into skillet and bake 20-25 minutes.

My dad bascially follows the recipe except he uses about 6 or 8 Tbs of margarine instead of oil, and about 3 or 4 TBS of sugar, and he also uses Buttermilk, instead of regular milk to increase the "tanginess".

I've tried all the fancy shmancy recipes out there...and this simple one is the best. It's has a nice brown crust with tiny holes and the cornbread texture is light and tangy with a bit of sweetness to it. The essentials for me is that it taste's like corn, be light, a bit moist, and not a mile high. You do have to be very careful of the brand of cornmeal used. Even AJ has brands that taste bad....but the Buttermilk flavored one is pretty good.

[snowangel]

I think one of the differences between skillet-baked cornbread and that baked in a pan is that the former tends to not be as sweet, and often doesn't rise as much. I believe, too, that the former is more associated with the south and the latter with the north.

There are several variations on the skillet-baked -- some has only cornmeal, some has a little flour added as well (where as most of the other kind is usually about 1/2 and 1/2).

Then, there's the choice of oil for skillet-baked -- oil or bacon drippings or lard, each which lends a different taste. And, since you put the batter into a very hot, greased pan, it has a great crust.

Then there's the choice of cornmeal. The finer grind like you can easily get at any grocery, or a coarser grind?

Here's one recipe, from my friend Sarah (no flour):

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter or drippings

Preheat oven to 450°. Put some grease (oil, drippings or lard) in one 9 inch round iron skillet in the heating oven. Stir the cornmeal, salt and baking soda together. Add the egg and buttermilk and mix well. Remove skillet from the oven, add some of the melted oil/drippings and pour the batter into the skillet. Bake at 450° for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove when cornbread is brown.

Here's one with flour, from my recipe box:

1/4 cup oil or drippings

1 c. corn meal

1 cup flour

1 T baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 cup milk

1 egg

Heat oil or drippings in a 8 or 9" skillet in a 425 oven.

Combine dry igredients; add egg and milk and some of the grease from the hot pan. Pour batter into pan; bake 20-30 minutes.

They are both great recipes, just that the addition of flour in the second one makes it quite different. My friend Sarah also says that some people add a bit of sugar to the batter.

[John Whiting]

Karen Hess discusses the origin of corn bread in _The Taste of America_ , p. 22, and also in her _Carolina Rice Kitchen_, pp. 126 ff. It was one of the foods learned from the Indians, who had a large variety of corn species as well as many ways of cooking it. One thing is certain: since the process of extracting vegetable oils had not yet been invented (except for olive oil, which was not indigenous), the bread would certainly have been made with animal fat of some kind, and the corn would have been coarsely stone ground.

Taking cognizance of another heated topic working its way to an ambiguous conclusion, this is not say that the above are the *correct* ingredients of cornbread. I'm only speaking historically.

[Suvir Saran]

Thanks for the recipes and the historical information. Both are relevant and appreciated.

It is funny that Grandma Hayes who hosted me in West Virginia has in her older age decided to use Jiffy Mix.

She adds a 1/3 cup of flour to a package of jiffy mix, one egg, and enough mix to make a thick batter.

It is then poured into a 6 or 7-inch iron skillet that has half a stick of margarine that has been melting in the oven.

It is baked at 350?F for 20-25 minutes and then turned over. It is then smothered with more margarine.

Her grandson, my friend, was shocked that she used Jiffy Mix. The resulting bread was actually very tasty.

She does use that one skillet only for corn bread. And she went on to say to me that I must season my skillet over many years before it becomes completely reliable for baking corn bread and guaranteeing success in the turning over act at the end. Her skillet had been seasoned for almost 5 decades. It was her mother’s cornbread skillet.

[phaelon56]

It may not be traditional but it's very tasty to add some fresh corn sliced off the cob and also some chopped green jalapenos.

[Taboni]

It seems as if there are as many cornbread variations as there are "perfect" fried chicken recipes, but here is one of the myriad ones taking up my recipe box that seems to work quite nicely, with a little honey added for sweetness. Also it helps to not work the batter too much as it will result in a less risen final product.

1 1/4 c ap flour

3/4 c yellow cornmeal (I use stoneground for a little coarser texture)

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 lg eggs

2 tbsp honey

1 c milk

2 tbsp melted unsalted butter

preheat 8 inch cast iron skillet in 425 oven with 3 tbsp Crisco for 15-20 mins

Whisk together dry ingredients. Whisk together wet ingredients. Add the wet to the dry until just combined. Remove the skillet from the oven and pour in mixture. Bake for 20-25 mins.

We also like homemade maple butter to go along with it. ( 1/2 lb unsalted butter + 1/2 c maple syrup + 1/4 tsp cinnamon + 1 tsp salt)

[stellabella]

Put some grease (oil, drippings or lard) in one 9 inch round iron skillet in the heating oven.

i always add about a tablespoon or a little more of oil to the skillet and swirl it around--you want the skillet to be really well-coated. when you pour the batter into the hot skillet the oil should sizzle.

jiffy cornbread mix is actually a pretty popular standard, suvir. i don't use it, but i would in a pinch--i think it would be fine to use as the base for cornbread dressing, for example.

i don't add sugar to my batter--i like the savory cornbread--and i think real sweet cornbread, eastern shore style, which is more like spoon bread, is gross--it just doesnt appeal to me.

cornbread hot out the skillet with butter and cane syrup is the best, IMO. and if you have leftovers you can reheat it and have it for breakfast the next day the same way, and it's almost just as good.

for savory cornbread, add any kind of grated or crumbled cheese, roasted peper, corn kernels, etc.

[Suvir Saran]

It may not be traditional but it's very tasty to add some fresh corn sliced off the cob and also some chopped green jalapenos.

Wow... Just what I did yesterday and the night before.

I added to Grandmay Hayes recipe two hot Thai peppers very finely chopped and the kernels of two fresh corns from the farmers market.

The bread was even better than what I ate in West Virginia. Made a great difference actually. Made it intensely corn tasting.

To be honest, I also added a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and some extra salt and also a 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black peppercorn.

[Suvir Saran]

It may not be traditional but it's very tasty to add some fresh corn sliced off the cob and also some chopped green jalapenos.

Wow... Just what I did yesterday and the night before.

I added to Grandmay Hayes recipe two hot Thai peppers very finely chopped and the kernels of two fresh corns from the farmers market.

The bread was even better than what I ate in West Virginia. Made a great difference actually. Made it intensely corn tasting.

To be honest, I also added a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and some extra salt and also a 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black peppercorn.

And yes I added a 1/3 cup of cheese grated into the batter and then some on top of the batter once poured into the skillet.

It gave a great texture to the top and also nice flavor. The friends I made it for only had Cheddar in the refrigerator.

I may have used some other cheese myself.

[mikey]

My favorite cornbread:

1 ¼ C. cornmeal

½ C. flour

2Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 C milk

2 eggs

1 Tbsp melted butter

Sift dry ingredients together into a mixing bowl

Mix eggs and milk in another bowl, and add to dry ingredients; add melted butter

Heat 8”-10” cast iron skillet and grease with oil or shortening

Pour batter into skillet, and pour ¾ C milk over top of batter.

Bake @ 375F for about 25 minutes

Not at all southern style, but really good.

[Fat Guy]

Add a can of creamed corn to your cornbread batter and your guests will say it's the best they've ever had.

[DaveFaris]

I visited the in-laws in Tennessee last year, and ordered cornbread at a restaurant with my dinner. I took one bite, and must have made a noticable face. My aunt-in-law said "there's no sugar." Southerners think it's a crime to add the sugar to the recipe, but my yank palette expects and requires it.

[Suvir Saran]

Add a can of creamed corn to your cornbread batter and your guests will say it's the best they've ever had.

I did that to what Grandma Hayes made in West Virginia. Without her knowing.

She did not even know I had used up some of her creamed corn.

It tasted very good.

[Toby]

This is a completely over-the-top cornbread with grits and black or red pepper.

First, you slowly cook 1/4 cup real (not instant) grits (either white or yellow) in 1 cup half and half, a little minced garlic, black pepper and salt in a little covered pot for about 15 minutes, until they're done. Let cool.

Then, make a cornbread batter, sifting together 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup flour, 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, and 3/4 tsp. salt. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in either a cake pan or a cast iron pan in the oven. Beat the grits, 1 egg and a mixture of 1-2/3 cup buttermilk and creme fraiche, together until smooth. Add 2 tablespoons of the melted butter to the grits and then mix quickly with the flour mixture. Pour into the cake or cast iron pan and sprinkle black pepper, red pepper flakes, or a mixture of both peppers over the top. Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 35 minutes, until the top is set and the cornbread is coming away from the sides of the pan.

The cake pan gives a softer, more cakelike bread; the cast iron pan makes a very crusty bread with a very moist interior that doesn't seem to rise as much.

[mamster]

Add a can of creamed corn to your cornbread batter and your guests will say it's the best they've ever had.

I can vouch for this, because I brought cornbread to the Pacific Northwest eGullet smoke-up, and Fat Guy was prowling around saying, "Who made this cornbread? I need some more of that." Wait, now that I think about it, it had frozen kernels in it, not creamed corn.

On skillet cornbread, I think the use of white flint cornmeal is important. It's hard stuff to find (we order ours from Morgan's Mills, and it's ludicrously expensive as far as cornmeal goes, around $3/lb), but makes a big difference. This is a favorite dinner at the Amster-Burton house. We use the recipe from John Thorne's Serious Pig, bacon drippings as the fat. We crumble the bacon and throw it in the batter, and when the bread is done, we halve it parallel to the plate and put some cheddar cheese inside.

[Suvir Saran]

I made my version of Grandma Hayes corn bread to take to Ed Schoenfelds home today. It was his son Eric’s birthday dinner. Ed was cooking steak, roast chicken, potato salad (my favorite in the whole wide world), buttermilk cole slaw and a appetizer of chanterelle mushrooms (Ed had brought them back from his trip to Washington State and Mt. Rainier), lily flower stamens and bamboo shoot moo shoo pancakes.

For the main meal, I thought the bread would be a perfect mate. And it was just that. Everyone wanted the recipe and I was all embarrassed for Grandma has taught me how to make it with Jiffy Mix. Here I was with foodies and this simple corn bread was getting all the attention. I added kernels from two fresh corns into Grandmas recipe and used buttermilk instead of milk. It did taste very good. And I have made it almost every night since I got back from Charleston.

This is what I did:

1 package Jiffy Mix

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorn

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

2 Serrano chiles, very finely minced

Kernels from 2 corns on the cobs (did I write this correctly?)

1 egg

Buttermilk, just enough to make a mix that resembles muffin batter

3/4 stick of butter

8 inch round baking tin

I preheated oven to 350?F.

In the tin I melted the butter. When it was melted, I pulled it out and sat it on the stove.

I mixed all the dry ingredients and the minced pepper together.

Added the eggs and buttermilk together and mixed quickly and lightly.

Put the tin back in the oven for a couple of minutes, when the butter was hot again, I brought the tin out, poured the batter into it, moved the tin around so that the melted butter that had come on top of batter was evenly distributed all over the batter.

Baked for 35 minutes until the top was beginning to get golden and the toothpick came out dry.

Placed the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Turned over onto a platter (Bottom side up.. Grandma said that is tradition) and rubbed the cake (the bottom now the top) with the remainder of the butter stick.

[Dana]

I have to respectfully disagree about the Jiffy mix in cornbread dressing. It's much too sweet for my taste. Aunt Jemima or Martha White mixes contain much less sugar and, to me, are better for dressing. I prefer my cornbread less sweet as well, but others who live at my house think "the sweeter, the better". Husband made one once with a can of coco lopez in it - more like corn cake.

Suvir-- the addition of a little more flour and all the chilies probably offsets some of the sweetness, and I will try yours soon. I always add frozen corn kernels or creamed corn, jalapeno peppers, finley chopped onion and cheddar to mine. There's never any left .

[snowangel]

Diana got a hankering for corn bread this weekend. She also pulled out "The Bread Baker's Apprentice," and decided to make the corn bread recipe in this book.

Everyone adored it, and it set a new and different standard. It uses polenta (soaked overnight in buttermilk), has corn (not creamed), and is topped with crumbled bacon. The cornbread was great, and anything with bacon is an instant hit here. She used bacon ends from our wonderful local butcher/smokehouse.

[Suvir Saran]

Diana got a hankering for corn bread this weekend.  She also pulled out "The Bread Baker's Apprentice," and decided to make the corn bread recipe in this book.

Everyone adored it, and it set a new and different standard.  It uses polenta (soaked overnight in buttermilk), has corn (not creamed), and is topped with crumbled bacon.  The cornbread was great, and anything with bacon is an instant hit here.  She used bacon ends from our wonderful local butcher/smokehouse.

Sounds delicious! Bacon is wonderful I have to agree. I am in heaven just with the smells that permeate the kitchen and other living space when cooking it...

Thanks for sharing this experience...

I have been making corn bread religiously ever since that trip to West Virginia. It has become a favorite of many friends as well.

[shugga]

Here's Emeril's recipe.

http://RecipeCircus.com/recipes/booper/BRE..._Cornbread.html

[Jaymes]

At the Rutherford Grill - in Rutherford Calif, (wine country) I had an appetizer cornbread in a skillet.

It was not the type of cornbread you'd serve "along with" - as in: along with beans, bbq, chile, etc.

It was very fancy, creamy, cheesy, bacony, and as I recall, kind of sweet (noticed Emeril's recipe had no sugar).

Has anyone else had that cornbread? Or something like it?

[Jaymes]

What should a skillet baked Corn Bread taste like?

What are the essentials for a good Corn Bread?

My grandmother and all "cooking" relatives always made their cornbread in a heavy cast iron skillet.

It tastes just like whatever your particular recipe for corn bread taste like if it were NOT baked in a skillet.

The reason for the skillet (according to my grams and other cook-friends) is primarily that it's nice and heavy and you can get it really hot with a little grease/fat in it, and then when you pour your batter into the hot pan, you get a nice crunchy crust, which you don't if you just use a regular baking pan.

We often add corn - any type - I like to add the canned southwestern corn that has green and red peppers in it, or some chunky salsa or pico de gallo, or any kind of chopped chiles, onions, etc.

Corn bread is, in my experience, difficult to mess up and even the simplest and most basic is delicious.

And the next morning, people in the South often have corn bread cereal (crumbled corn bread with or without sweetener like sugar or honey or molasses and milk poured over) or cornbread salad, which is delicious.

Cornbread Salad

1 pan (8x8) cornbread, baked, cooled & crumbled (for ease, just use 1 box Jiffy or other favorite cornbread mix)

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 bunch green onions with tops, chopped

1 cup mayo or Miracle Whip

S&P to taste

Combine all ingredients thoroughly, cover and chill overnight

There's a southwestern version where you use Mexican-style cornbread mix, and you can add some canned (drained) kidney, pinto, chili or Ranch Style beans. Many people add a can of corn, also drained. Some use 1 pkg Hidden Valley Original Dressing mix (prepared) instead of the mayo or Miracle Whip. A friend always puts in 1/2 C chopped sweet pickles, or some sweet pickle relish, and 1/4 cup sweet pickle juice. Lots of the "church potluck" women top this with some grated cheese, either Cheddar or Parmesan. I've also seen crisp bacon pieces, and pimentos, and pecans.

This is very versatile - and you can add pretty-much whatever you want.

It is really, really good though - and a nice substitute for potato salad at BBQs and hotdog/hamburger cookouts.

[Dana]

When I first heard about cornbread salad, I thought it sounded weird, but it really is delish. The version I have also includes jalapeno ranch-style beans and bacon, (in addition to the above) and uses dill pickle juice instead of sweet.

[Wilfrid]

I am having problems with skillet cornbread. I tried at Thanksgiving and it was much too dry and crumbly. I tried again yesterday and it was only slightly less dry and a little sour tasting.

I am not using a commercial mix. I have been using yellow cornflour, regular flour, baking powder, milk, egg and salt. As for the proportions, I find it typical of recipes on this thread that they combine two cups of one sort of flour or another with a cup of milk and one egg. For me, that is resulting in a dry, crumbly mixture which I would scarcely call batter. I have tried doubling the milk, but it's still pretty dry and only getting stickier. I can't imagine changing to buttermilk would solve the problem, regardless of whether it would improve the flavor.

Any ideas?