Why this recipe works Cornbread is an easy-to-make quick bread, but it means different things to different people. Northerners like their cornbread sweet and light—more cake than bread. Recipes abound for this style, but we wanted to add to our bread repertoire the satisfying skillet-baked cornbread that’s popular in the South. Southern-style cornbread should boast hearty corn flavor, a sturdy, moist crumb, and a brown crust. And it definitely shouldn’t be sweet— that’s veering into Yankee territory. That said, we departed from tradition in some ways. For one, we chose yellow cornmeal rather than the typical white; cornbread made with yellow stone-ground cornmeal had a more potent corn flavor. Toasting the cornmeal in our skillet for a few minutes intensified that flavor. After we toasted it, we created a cornmeal mush by softening the cornmeal in a mixture of sour cream and milk. This ensured that our bread had a fine, moist crumb. We used sour cream in the mush because it added a pleasant tang that worked well with the sweet cornmeal; plus, it reacted with the leaveners to keep this flourless bread from being too dense. And for bread that baked up rich and tender, we whisked two eggs into the batter. When it came to the fat, we skipped the customary bacon fat and instead used a combination of butter (for flavor) and vegetable oil (for its ability to withstand high heat without burning). Greasing the skillet with both and preheating it before adding the batter delivered the rich, crisp, distinctly Southern crust we were after. We prefer a cast-iron skillet, but any ovensafe 10 inch skillet will work. You can substitute any type of fine- or medium-ground cornmeal; do not use coarse-ground cornmeal.
MAKES: one 10-inch loaf
BAKING TIME: 12 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 1¼ hours
KEY EQUIPMENT: 10-inch cast-iron skillet
INGREDIENTS:
- 2¼ cups (11¼ ounces) stone-ground cornmeal
- 1½ cups (12 ounces) sour cream
- ½ cup (4 ounces) whole milk
- ¼ cup (1¾ ounces) vegetable oil
- 5 tablespoons (2½ ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 5 pieces
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Toast the cornmeal in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Transfer the toasted cornmeal to a large bowl and whisk in sour cream and milk. Set aside.
- Wipe the skillet clean with paper towels. Add oil to the skillet and place it in the preheated oven. Heat until the oil is shimmering, about 10 minutes. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven, add butter, and swirl the pan to melt the butter.
- Pour all but 1 tablespoon of the oil-butter mixture from the skillet into the cornmeal mixture. Whisk to incorporate. Add sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the cornmeal mixture. Whisk until combined, then whisk in the eggs.
- Quickly transfer the batter to the skillet and smooth the top. Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the top begins to crack and the sides are golden brown. Rotate the skillet halfway through baking.
- Allow the bread to cool in the skillet for 15 minutes. Then, remove the bread from the skillet and transfer it to a wire rack to cool further. Serve the bread warm or at room temperature.
VARIATION:
SPICY SOUTHERN-STYLE SKILLET CORNBREAD
- Whisk 2 minced jalapeño chiles and 2 teaspoons grated lime zest into cornmeal mixture with eggs in step 4.
