Cast Iron

The Greatest Cornbread, Ever

by:
June  5, 2011
0
0 Ratings
The Greatest Cornbread, Ever
  • Serves 8-12
Author Notes

Cornbread is an easy answer to the "What should we have for dinner?" question on nights when I'm feeling lazy -- add a really simple salad and a poached egg and you're set.

I tried a lot of recipes in looking for my cornbread soulmate, and this one satisfies all of my requirements: a high ratio of cornmeal to flour (1:1 here!), no fancy ingredients (honey, molasses, what have you), and not so many eggs or so much milk that I can't make it when the fridge is on the empty side.

This is actually the un-veganization of a vegan recipe I found on the internet (no flax seed for me, please, and bacon fat makes for the crispiest crust), and it's perfect in every way. Do yourself a huge favor and eat the leftovers the next day toasted, spread with avocado, and drizzled with balsamic. Just, wow.

One last note: try sauteeing a sliced onion or two in your skillet while you prep the batter, then pour the batter directly over the caramelized onions, bake, and flip it all out of the pan to serve. —Nozlee Samadzadeh

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup cornmeal (any kind -- finely ground, coarsely ground, blue, etc)
  • 1 heaping tablespoons baking powder
  • 1 scant teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup milk (any kind -- I always use soymilk)
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon bacon fat or canola oil
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place bacon fat in an 8- or 9-inch cast iron skillet and place in oven. (If using a Pyrex baking dish, just oil it and set aside).
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients -- flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, and eggs.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix only until incorporated and smooth.
  5. Pour batter into skillet (careful, it's hot!) and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cut into wedges and serve!
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  • procrastibaker
    procrastibaker
  • suziqcu
    suziqcu
  • lksugarman
    lksugarman
  • Nozlee Samadzadeh
    Nozlee Samadzadeh
Nozlee Samadzadeh
I'm Nozlee Samadzadeh, a writer, editor, farmer, developer, and passionate home cook. Growing up Iranian in Oklahoma, working on a small-scale organic farm, and cooking on a budget all influence the way I cook -- herbed rice dishes, chicken fried steak, heirloom tomato salad, and simple poached eggs all make appearances on my bright blue kitchen table. I love to eat kimchi (homemade!) straight from the jar and I eat cake for breakfast.

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8 Reviews

Amelia H.
Amelia H. October 30, 2015
This didn't work out for me! Followed the recipe to a T, and it turned out very dry and bland. Would add an extra 1/4 cup of oil and some sweetener next time, maybe 1/2 cup of honey, maple syrup, or reg. sugar. I grew up on that sweet Southern style cornbread, and it's like nothing compares now! Will simply adjust next time.
 
suziqcu
suziqcu October 30, 2015
I thought same and posted as much 3 years ago below. Maybe the addition of sugar made it more moist, too? Don't
Neglect the bacon fat in skillet prior to
Adding batter either ;)
 
procrastibaker
procrastibaker October 2, 2013
Quick, easy, and delicious! This is now my go-to simple cornbread recipe. Love that it can be done with things I've almost always got on hand (or can grab from the corner store). Mine is generally done after about 18 minutes (in an 8" skillet), so you may want to begin checking around 15 if your oven runs hot.
 
suziqcu
suziqcu November 18, 2012
I hesitate to add this....but as most southerners have a taste for a sweeter version, I did add a scant 1/2 c of sugar...I know that's probably frowned upon, but after i tasted the adulterated version, I knew it was the right thing for me to do ;-)
 
jenkaa55
jenkaa55 November 4, 2012
I made this tonight for the first time. I used buttermilk and white cornmeal and baked it in a 9inch cake pan. The batter was light and fluffy and so was the baked cornbread! Lovely!
 
Pragg
Pragg May 27, 2012
Iam looking for a fluffy sweet corn bread.Anyone with a great recipe. [email protected]. Thank you!
 
lksugarman
lksugarman July 2, 2011
So good! A real "old-fashioned" cornbread! I substituted whole wheat all-purpose flour. I actually didn't pay attention and just ended up measuring and dumping al the dry ingredients, then all the wet ingredients into one mixing bowl. Mixed together quickly and into the skillet on top of the hot bacon fat.

Came out tender, crumbly, full of texture due to the coarse cornmeal and whole wheat flour with that wonderful bacon perfume.
 
Nozlee S.
Nozlee S. July 5, 2011
Ha, it's just that easy, lksugarman -- just mix the dry and wet ingredients! So happy you enjoyed it.