Cornbread

Cornbread is an absolute staple at our house. It’s a must have with soup or chili. It’s a quick and easy stand in for biscuits if I’m making sausage gravy. And it’s a hearty side dish that complements almost any meal.

Because this recipe is so simple, I’ve always been puzzled by the boxes of cornbread mix I find in the grocery store. Believe me, if you can read the directions on one of those boxes, you can follow this recipe and achieve much better results.

I almost always make cornbread in a cast iron skillet. And I should probably have said “skillets,” because it is just as easy to make two pans as it is to make one once you’ve got the oven preheated. For that reason, I am going to give you both the single pan recipe and a doubled one below it. While I know you are capable of doubling it yourself, if you are in a hurry or distracted it’s just easier to have it in front of you.

A few times, I have made cornbread muffins and they are also delicious. But with the muffins, I miss the crispy, buttery edges that you get with cast iron. Other variations are to add chopped jalapeƱo, grated cheese, or even cooked pan sausage crumbles. All are wonderful!

Before the recipe, I want to address the issue of sweet vs. unsweet cornbread. People can have strong feelings about which is the “right” way to make it. These can be regional differences or just based on what you grew up eating. That said, if you are making it for guests, you may want to bake a sweet pan and an unsweet one. This recipe calls for one tablespoon of sugar but you can completely omit it or double it based on your preferences.

Cornbread (one pan)

1 cup cornmeal (I love Lamb’s stoneground corn meal from the great state of Texas!)

1/3 cup rice flour (if you are NOT gluten free, you may substitute regular flour)

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt (a generous or “rounded” half teaspoon)

1 egg

1/4 cup cooking oil

3/4 cup milk

1 Tbsp butter

-OR-

Cornbread (2 pans)

2 cups cornmeal

2/3 cup rice flour

2 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 generous tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup cooking oil

1 and 1/2 cups milk

2 Tbsp butter

Directions:

Place cast iron skillet (or skillets) on the middle rack of the oven. Set the oven to 425 degrees and preheat with the pans in it.

While oven is preheating, put the dry ingredients (everything from the cornmeal down to the salt) in a large mixing bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk.

Add the egg, oil and milk. Stir well until completely mixed together with no powdery lumps or strings of egg. You want this to be completely incorporated into a batter that is an even, golden yellow color.

Once the oven and cast iron are all preheated to 425 degrees, use hot pads to very carefully remove the pan or pans from the oven and set them on top of additional hot pads. Immediately drop a tablespoon of cold butter into each pan that you are using. This is going to sizzle!

Once the butter is completely melted (it shouldn’t take long) tilt the pan so that the bottom is evenly coated. Then pour the batter into the pan. If you have doubled this recipe, just do your best to divide the batter evenly between the two pans. It’s not going to make a huge difference if one pan has a tiny bit more than the other.

Carefully place the cast iron skillet(s) back into the oven. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Remove skillets from the oven. Slice crosswise into triangles (think pie shapes) and serve. While I prefer this piping hot, my family will eat it at any temperature or even leftover.

Enjoy!

Serving suggestions: add more butter, a drizzle of honey, or top with gravy. I have even sliced up leftover cornbread and made French toast out of it – amazing!

If you have leftovers that your family is not going to eat, don’t throw it out! This stuff is gold when it comes time to make cornbread dressing – and not only at Thanksgiving. Just crumble up the leftover cornbread and store it in a plastic bag or container in the freezer until you are ready to use it. Note: if you forget it and leave it in there for a year or longer, it’s time to give it to the chickens.

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