Cornbread, Southern Style
“Southern style — except without lard or bacon grease.”
Ingredients
2 cups cornmeal (organic if you can find it) OR 1 1/2 cups cornmeal and 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 to 2 Tbsp. sugar (optional)
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg (optional)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Directions
Put the oil in a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet (or uncovered Dutch oven or metal cake pan) and put the skillet into the oven. Then preheat the oven to 400° with the skillet inside.
Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg (if using) and buttermilk until combined, then mix that into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir in the melted butter.
When the oven is hot, take out the skillet. (Be careful, as the handle on that pan will be hotter than the hinges on the gates of hell and you will burn your hand and lose your religion). Add the cornbread batter and spread it evenly around the pan. Bake about 20 minutes until the edges are brown and it feels firm to the touch (or test to see if a toothpick comes out clean.)
Let the bread rest for 10-30 minutes in the skillet before cutting it into wedges (if you can stand to wait.) And remember, the handle of that pan will remain hot longer than you would ever think possible. You might want to put a pot holder on it, especially if, like some of us, you have a tendency to forget.
