Best Cornbread Ever

Well ... except for your Mama's

In the south, cornbread matters. In this article, you will learn how to make the best cornbread ever.

I know that “best cornbread ever” can be fighting words. To understate it by a bit, not everyone likes their cornbread the same way. This recipe makes a hearty, crusty cornbread. It’s not a sweet, cakey cornbread.  I also admit that your Mama makes the best cornbread ever. This is a close second. If you like it better, don’t tell her.

The best cornbread ever is a quick bread. Quick breads don’t use yeast. Not using yeast means that they don’t need time to rise; hence the categorical name “quick bread”.

Baking powder is what makes cornbread a quick bread. The moisture from the recipe and the heat from the oven cause the baking powder to produce gas. That gas causes the cornbread to rise while baking. The proteins from the eggs and milk then set (harden) while baking preserving the risen structure of the cornbread.

You make the best cornbread ever with very coarsely ground cornmeal, flour, eggs, milk, butter, olive oil, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. It is a simple and easy recipe.

You’ll need a cast iron skillet. See the picture below for an example. The recipe quantities given here generously serve four people and for that you’ll need an eight-inch cast iron skillet.  Don’t skimp on the skillet. Buy a good one, season it well, and it will last basically forever.

I’ve had my best results with this recipe using grits for the cornmeal. Grits are coarsely ground corn and they are key to the texture. Bless your heart if you live where you can’t get grits. Not to worry, polenta is a good substitute. For the flour, use all-purpose flour. Don’t use self-rising flour.

Pour enough olive oil in your cast iron skillet to barely cover the bottom. Set your oven at 425 degrees and put the cast iron skillet in the oven while the oven pre-heats. This is a key step for the crust. You will pour your batter (the mixture from the steps below) directly into a hot skillet and that jump starts the crust.

Mix your dry ingredients in a clean mixing bowl. The dry ingredients are 1 ½ cups of grits, ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder (I use Clabber Girl), ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Measure these accurately. You’ll need measuring cups and teaspoon/tablespoon measures. See the ingredients in the picture above.

It’s handy to use a two cup Pyrex measuring cup to measure the grits and cornmeal and then reuse it in the next step below.  Fill the two cup Pyrex measuring cup to 1 ½ cup of grits and then add all-purpose flour up to the 2-cup line.

Dump the flour and grits into the mixing bowl and then add the baking powder (remember to measure it), the baking soda, and the salt. Mix those up thoroughly. A fork works well to do the mixing of the dry ingredients.

Put about 2/3 of a stick of butter in your Pyrex cup and melt it in the microwave.  Don’t overdo it; you just want the butter to melt.  After the butter melts completely, pour about a cup of milk into the butter. This cools the butter down which is really important for the next step. Add two raw eggs into the milk/butter mixture. If you don’t cool the butter down first, you will cook the eggs slightly with the hot melted butter. That will ruin your cornbread.

Using your fork, whomp up the eggs, milk, and butter until you have a thoroughly mixed slurry (the baking term for slurry is batter but a term just as accurate and recognizable to most men is slurry). Then, top the mixture off with enough milk to bring the liquid to the 2-cup line on the Pyrex measuring cup. Lightly mix it one more time and pour the mixture into your mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. Using your fork, thoroughly mix the wet and dry ingredients. Completely mix the batter leaving no dry spots or patches.

Wait for the oven to pre-heat completely. When it has finished pre-heating, use a potholder to remove the skillet from the oven. Make sure the oil has completely covered the bottom of the pan. Set the hot skillet on a heat-proof surface (like a stovetop or a potholder).

Pour the cornbread mixture (the batter) into the skillet. It should sizzle and crackle as it goes in.

Return the skillet to the oven and bake it until the top is a deep golden brown. That will take 25 or 30 minutes or maybe a bit longer. Bake it until the center is completely set and the top is a deep golden brown. The crust is a big part of what makes this cornbread so good. Bake until it is good and crusty.

Carefully remove the skillet from the oven. Dump out the cornbread by inverting it over a wooden cutting board. Place the hot skillet in a safe place (like a stovetop) to cool. Then, carefully flip the cornbread back right-side up.

Cut and enjoy. Add butter, honey, maple syrup, or eat it plain. Crumble it and put beans over it for an old time deep south meal. Eat it for breakfast crumbled into milk (it’s better than cereal). Fry a slice of it in butter for breakfast. Use it the next day to make cornbread stuffing. Any way you eat it; it’s delicious.  

Spice It Up

Add diced jalapenos into your batter before baking for a spicy cornbread. Add cracklings for crackling cornbread. Cracklings are an old school southern favorite and you will see why when you try it.

Caring for Your Skillet

After your skillet cools completely, wipe it out thoroughly. You shouldn’t have to do more than that.  If you need to do more than that, it’s not properly seasoned.