Tag: cornbread

Skillet Cornbread

For some reason, people object to the word “moist.” But any baker will tell you that moistness is a crucial component of good cakes and quick breads, particularly cornbread. Having made an unfortunately dry cornbread before, I took to the internet to find a recipe for a (sorry, word haters) moist version.

Baking a Moment offered the recipe below, which I chose to bake in a cast-iron skillet. You can also use a 9 x 13 pan, but since I had the skillet, I figured, why not? Skillet baking lends a lovely, crunchy brown edge to the bread. I stored mine in my round cake caddy, and we cut slices as we wanted them, rather than cutting the whole round, for freshness. Cornbread can be reheated in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds if you’d like your butter to melt on it; I usually also serve mine with honey.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cup flour
  • 2/3 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons butter, divided into one 4-tablespoon portion and one 2-tablespoon portion
  • 1 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs

Preparation

Place 2 tablespoons butter in the bottom of your cast-iron skillet. Place the skillet in the oven and preheat to 350, allowing the butter to melt during preheating.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt.

Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter and combine with milk, vegetable oil, and eggs, stirring to combine. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to combine.

Once your oven has preheated, check your skillet and carefully swirl the butter around to coat the bottom, then use a pastry brush to brush butter about halfway up the sides. Pour mixture into the skillet and bake for 35 minutes or until edges are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist (sorry, I had to) crumbs.

Cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving; store in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days. Cornbread will last longer if stored, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator. Makes about 12-15 servings, depending on how big you slice it.

Advertisement

Cornbread

cornbreadMike made an enormous pot of chili today and asked that I bake him some homemade cornbread to go along with it. I’ve probably made homemade cornbread a million times before, but have never blogged it until today.

Cornbread is actually very easy to make, requiring just a few bowls, a spoon, and a pan. If you’re a beginning baker, I’d actually recommend trying this cornbread recipe, which comes from the Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook but has a bit of a sweet twist. My Aunt Liz always added vanilla extract to cornbread, so that’s what I do as well. Just a few teaspoons adds a nice dimension of sweetness.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup flour
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom and halfway up the sides of an 8 x 8 square pan.

In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; make a well in the center.

In a large glass measuring cup, combine milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour all at once into the well in the dry mixture and stir until just combined; batter will be a bit lumpy.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, until top is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool in pan, or serve warm.