Corn Bread – Reboot

What is with the “Reboot” thing.

I am going through the Rogue Chef archives of 2005 – 20015, selecting interesting posts, updating them, applying the new formats, and adding additional content.

Now on to the post from Early November of 2007, “Cast Iron Corn Bread”, and it’s reboot.

Cornbread is one of the earliest memories I have of food.   My mother always had cornbread, either fresh, or from the last baking, ready to slather with butter or crumble into a glass of butter milk.  But what exactly is “Corn Bread”?

From Wikipedia:

Cornbread is a common bread in United States cuisine, particularly associated with the South and Southwest, as well as being a traditional staple for populations where wheat flour was more expensive. In some parts of the South it is crumbled into a glass of cold milk or buttermilk and eaten with a spoon, and it is also widely eaten with barbecue and chili con carne. In parts of the southern and southwestern United States, cornbread, accompanied by pinto beans, has been a common lunch for many people. It is still a common side dish, often served with homemade butter, chunks of onion or scallions. Cornbread crumbs are also used in some poultry stuffings; cornbread stuffing is particularly associated with Thanksgiving turkeys.

In the United States, northern and southern cornbread are different because they generally use different types of corn meal and varying degrees of sugar and eggs. Southern cornbread has traditionally been made with little or no sugar and smaller amounts of flour (or no flour), with northern cornbread being sweeter and more cake-like. Southern cornbread traditionally used white cornmeal and buttermilk. Other ingredients such as pork rinds are sometimes used. Cornbread is occasionally crumbled and served with cold milk or clabber (buttermilk), similar to cold cereal. In Texas, Mexican influence has spawned a hearty cornbread made with fresh or creamed corn kernels and jalapeño peppers and topped with shredded cheese. Cornbread is typically eaten with molasses in the southern states and with butter and honey in the northern states of America.

Skillet-fried or skillet-baked cornbread (often simplified to cornbread or skillet bread) is a traditional staple in the rural United States, especially in the South. This involves heating bacon drippings, lard or other oil in a heavy, well-seasoned cast iron skillet in an oven, and then pouring a batter made from cornmeal, egg, and milk directly into the hot grease. The mixture is returned to the oven to bake into a large, crumbly and sometimes very moist cake with a crunchy crust. This bread tends to be dense and is usually served as an accompaniment rather than as a bread served as a regular course. In addition to the skillet method, such cornbread also may be made in sticks, muffins, or loaves.

Sure sounds like the memory of my youth..  In fact, dinner this night will be cornbread and pinto beans.

Corn Bread

A simple, corn bread made in the versatile cast-iron skillet. Tastes great and is a good base recipe to experiment with. Cast-iron skillets take a little bit of time to warm up. Pre-warming the skillet allows the corn bread to cook evenly. I'll add jalapeno and sweet onion as texture enhancers

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Breads, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 1 Loaf

Calories 1543 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup Corn Meal Yellow, of course
• 1 cup AP Flour
• 1 cup Milk Sweet or buttermilk, whole full fat.
• 4 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt Kosher, of course
• 1 ea Egg Free Range, Large or better
• 1/4 cup Oil Vegetable, Canola or taste free
• 1/2 Large Sweet Onion Peeled and Diced
• 1 Jalapeno Pepper Large, washed, seeded, stemmed, diced

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 425 F . Place 9-inch cast-iron skillet in oven to warm it.
• Mix corn meal and mix in large bowl; Let rest for 5 minutes
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into corn meal mixture. Mix onion, jalapeno, and eggs into the corn meal mixture until you have a smooth batter, about 1 minute. Let rest 5 minutes
• Remove skillet and oil, or use butter for more flavor; Pour batter into skillet
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove from oven, turn out and slice into wedges. Serve as a side to chili, beans, or just with butter

Notes

One can add sugar, if one wants, but that would be corn cake.

One can add 1 can of creamed corn

One can add diced bell red and green bell peppers

One can top with shredded cheddar cheese

Nutrition

Calories: 1543kcalCarbohydrates: 186gProtein: 31gFat: 78gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 1787mgPotassium: 3158mgFiber: 19gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 546IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 1249mgIron: 9mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!