“Not everybody loves the same kind of cornbread. Sugar, or not? Bacon fat, or butter? Yellow cornmeal, or white? Universal agreement on what makes cornbread love-worthy does not exist. Disagreement about cornbread, like so much, is just as common as love for it.” – Crescent Dragonwagon, “The Cornbread Gospels,” My Rouses Everyday, March/April 2016
The Cornbread Gospels
Cornbread
Ingredients
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 1 cup unbleached white flour
- 1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup mild vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons butter, or mild vegetable oil
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with oil and set aside.
- Sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a medium bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sugar, egg and oil.
- Put the prepared skillet over medium heat, add the butter, and heat until the butter melts and is just starting to sizzle. Tilt the pan to coat the sides and bottom.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine them quickly, using as few strokes as possible. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cornbread until it is golden brown, about 20 minutes.
- Let cool for a few moments, and slice into wedges to serve.
