Soup Sides: Skillet Cornbread

I made this skillet cornbread on Sunday, and boy did the samples disappear. If you had had a time-lapse camera, you would have seen hordes of people coming by as the samples got smaller and smaller and a wee bit smaller…. But I compensated by adding a delicious local honey from Charlotte (Shreiner honey) to the demo halfway through, so the latecomers got to sample that, too.          

 

My cornbread is a blend of Southern and Northern cornbread styles. If you don’t know the difference, neither did I until I got acquainted with page 776 of “The Joy of Cooking” (1997 edition). That was where I first learned that Southern cornbread is a leaner, no-nonsense version of what I grew up eating, comprised of just cornmeal, buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and salt – no oil or butter (maybe a little bacon fat to grease the pan), no flour to dilute the corn’s grittiness, and for Pete’s sake no sweetener. It’s traditionally baked in a skillet. The result is crunchy and a little dry, a perfect foil to the richness of the rest of the meal.

 

 

Oh…and it goes great with soup!

 

Here’s a link to more on the differences between Northern and Southern cornbreads from the Gainesville (Georgia) Times (“The Great Corn Divide”): http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/archive/4274/

 

Skillet Cornbread

The hot, greased skillet makes a crusty cornbread!

 

2 Tbs. butter

1 ¼ cups Early Riser cornmeal from Butterworks Farm

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup milk

1 egg

¼ cup maple syrup

 

Place the butter in a 9” oven-proof skillet. Heat the oven to 400° and place the skillet in the oven to preheat.

 

In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (cornmeal, all-purpose flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda). Using a wooden spoon or whisk, stir to blend. In a second mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients (buttermilk, milk, egg, and maple syrup). Blend well.

 

Carefully, using pot holders or mitts, take the skillet out of the oven and gently tilt the pan to swirl the butter around the sides. Pour the extra butter into the wet ingredients and replace skillet in oven. Stir together the wet and dry ingredients until just blended.

 

Remove skillet one more time, pour batter in, and spread evenly. Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes, or until nicely browned on top.

 

Serve with a pat of butter and honey on top, next to some nice, local soup.