Corn Bread

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Believe it or not, there are actually several recipes for down home style cornbread. Some have a tad of sugar and some don't. I have found that those in the deep south are more likely to have sugar in it.

Regardless of which recipe you use, here's a big hint: always use an iron skillet to bake it in. Preheat the iron skillet in the oven when preheating it.

This was my grandmother's recipe, so it's pretty vague. I'll try to come up with more accurate measurements.

Preheat oven: 400*

NOTE: Spoon size: this is what I call a vegetable spon. It's size is in between a huge serving spoon and the small one on most desert tables (aka iced tea spoon). I think that it probably equates (when heaping) to about 1/4 cup.

5 large spoons yellow corn meal (1 1/4 cups ?)
3 large spoons flour (3/4 cup ?)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
3 1/2 Tablespoons oil
Milk

Mix dry ingredients. Put oil in preheated skillet. Beat egg then add to dry ingredients. Add enough milk to make it like pancake batter. Be sure to add the oil in between the milk pourings.

Put in preheated skillet, then oven. Bake about 20 - 30 minutes.

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1/2 lb butter
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 4 oz can green chilis
1 16 oz can cream style corn
1 cup corn meal
1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp onion seasoning
1 cup flour
4 tsp baking powder

Cream together butter & sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add chilies, corn, cheese & seasonings. Sift together flour, corn meal, & baking powder, add to mixture and blend well. Pour into greased & floured 12 inch cake pan. Preheat oven to 350° put pan in oven and reduce heat to 300°. Bake 1 hour.

This is very good! Cut back on the cayenne if you don?t like your foods quite so spicy. Use pepper cheese or add more cayenne to make more spicy.

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Orginally posted by Suz

Believe it or not, there are actually several recipes for down home style cornbread. Some have a tad of sugar and some don't. I have found that those in the deep south are more likely to have sugar in it.

Regardless of which recipe you use, here's a big hint: [b]always use an iron skillet to bake it in. Preheat the iron skillet in the oven when preheating it.

This was my grandmother's recipe, so it's pretty vague. I'll try to come up with more accurate measurements.

Preheat oven: 400*

NOTE: Spoon size: this is what I call a vegetable spon. It's size is in between a huge serving spoon and the small one on most desert tables (aka iced tea spoon). I think that it probably equates (when heaping) to about 1/4 cup.

5 large spoons yellow corn meal (1 1/4 cups ?)
3 large spoons flour (3/4 cup ?)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
3 1/2 Tablespoons oil
Milk

Mix dry ingredients. Put oil in preheated skillet. Beat egg then add to dry ingredients. Add enough milk to make it like pancake batter. Be sure to add the oil in between the milk pourings.

Put in preheated skillet, then oven. Bake about 20 - 30 minutes.

Suz
Ok. I made some corn bread following your instructions. Are they supposto look like like pancakes or what.Mine look like hockey pucks and just about as hard, but they taste ok.I made a second batch and made it the same size as my pan.Haven't tried it yet.Looks good.

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Suz
Does this look right?


<img src=http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/uploads/3e6e87ee72420corn.jpg/>

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The large one looks pretty close. Did you make it in a 12'' skillet? Not sure what happened to the other two. My guess is that the batter was too thick - that you didn't have enough milk in it. Remember, this is a very, very old recipe and this is REALLY down home big time. Slice a piece down the middle when hot and put a tad of butter on it. It is great with chili, red beans, pinto beans, or hoppin' john (Blackeyed peas over rice).

If you like it thicker, you can fix it in a smaller skillet. That makes it fluffier. Back the temp down a hair and cook a little longer when in a smaller skillet (10'').

If you don't like it as crispy then you don't have to preheat the iron skillet.

As I said, there are many different kinds. Some are light and fluffy and very tender. Larry's probably is. (His probably comes out about 2 1/2'' high where mine is more like an 1 1/2'' high.) But for us down here, we don't want ours to fall apart in the saddle bags when were ridin' the range! ;)

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Suz
Thanks. I will experiment some more latter on.:)

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Suz - Thanks for the recipe. First try I overeheated the skillet and like to burned the kitchen down. Second try came out perfect...just pre-zakly like Mawmaw's

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Sorry you almost burned your kitchen down. That's why I don't put the oil in the skillet before I put it in the oven. You can really get it to smoking. Putting it in the skillet when it's hot seems to help coat the pan and warm the oil enough to do the trick.

When you said ''down home'' I thought my recipe might be what you were looking for. I'm glad it was.

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I meant to pipe in earlier.

On Monday night Sue and I were talking about breads. I mentioned that I have always wanted to make a decent cornbread. We had this conversation (and have never discussed cornbread ever before) and I log in Tuesday morning and lo and behold - there was your recipe.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. :E :E

True Story! Thanks for the recipe. :wave

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Rick - Scary, isn't it? :o You can thank Parnell...he asked for a down home style cornbread recipe on another thread.

I'm hoping that we will get more recipes. This one may not be to everyone's liking as it is pretty solid and compact. The lighter, more delicate ones usually have more flour and less cornmeal.

Come on folks.....surely there are others out there. If not, I'm going to have to go digging through my stack of use-to-cook recipes and come up with another one.

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One of the things I do with corn meal is add a cup or so to my pancakes in the morning.
Another is one I learned from my grandmother, she would make up any kind of cornbread recipe add a little extra oil, then cook it in a deep cast iron pan stiring it every now and then as it cooked, it came out cooked into little lumps and was served in a bowl with milk as hot cereal.

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Your comments remind me of what my dad used to do. On a night when we had cornbread for dinner, my dad's favorite late evening snack was cornbread in a glass of milk -- eaten with a spoon.

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I think the cornbread and milk thing is probably an old country thing. Most of the younger crowd don't seem to remember it. May be a hold over from the Depression era cooking. Or pioneer days without pre fixed cereal.

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Orginally posted by Suz

Your comments remind me of what my dad used to do. On a night when we had cornbread for dinner, my dad's favorite late evening snack was cornbread in a glass of milk -- eaten with a spoon.

Ah...the memories! :reye2 We did this often as a boy growing up in Michigan, and you're right, it has to be in a glass and eaten with a spoon. I still ocassionally like to have it when we have leftover cornbread.

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Can't beat a good cornbread with a stick.
I had allergies as a kid and grew up on corn and soy-- couldn't have wheat products.
Now I like it with a bit of spice-- here's my recipe:
Ingreedients:
1 cup all purp. flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs slightly beaten
1/4 cup lard or vegetable shortening-melted
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3-4 fresh jalapenos seeds out, minced fine as possible

combine dry ingredients in large bowl, and mix slightly
preheat oven to 425F and grease 2 cornbread pans or 12 muffin cups
mix wet ingredients and peppers/onions into bowl until all ingredients are moist. Spoon into pans and bake about 20 minutes
for crispy batter preheat cast-iron pans

remove and enjoy

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The old 'College Diner' here in town makes c:)rnbread my favorite way: after baking a square pan of it, cut it into rectangles, slice a block, then fry it in butter in a skillet, on both sides. I do this at home when the craving strikes. It's one of my favorite comfort foods. :wub

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Thanks for posting your recipe. I kept hoping that someone would post one of the lighter, fluffier kind. I can tell by the ingredient that yours is. This is the version that many favor.

Beverly, my guess is that your 'fried' cornbread started out more like Joe's: fluffier with a tad of sugar.

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Here are two more cornbread recipes. Both are excellent.

Mom's Cornbread

2 c. cornmeal
2 1/2 c. + 2 TBS flour
2 1/2 tsp. salt
2 TBS baking powder
1/3 c. + 2 TBS sugar
2 c. milk
3 eggs
1/3 c. + 2 TBS shortening (melted)

Combine dry ingredients. Add eggs, milk & shortening. Mix only until moistened. Spread into 9X13 greased pan ...or very large cast iron skillet (greased). Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.


Nebraskan Corn Bread

3/4 c. cornmeal
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 TBS sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 TBS melted butter
1 c. sour cream
4 TBS. milk

Mix first six ingredients. Beat egg, butter, sour crea & milk together. Add to dry. Pour into greased 9" square pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

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My mother didn't make cornbread, but a cake with cornmeal called Johnny Cake - maybe it's a northern thing?
1 large egg & 1c brown sugar
Beat well
Stir in - 1/2 to 1 c sour cream (or sour milk)
1 tsp baking soda
Thicken with 1 c cornmeal
1 c flour
Bake at 400-450 HOT
She just used a cake pan.Done as usual when it springs back in otherwords it doesn't say how long to bake.
Serve hot with butter(my favourite), honey or maple syrup.
Jean

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So that's Johnny Cake. sounds yummy.

all of them are alike, but different at the same time. Going to have to try some of them :yep