Blog

Travel

Photos

 

Recipes  

Contact                
 
 

 

Asian

Bread

Deserts

Chicken

Blank

Blank

Links  
 

Cornbread

 

 

Another southern food I love is cornbread, especially when it is served with barbeque and made with bacon drippings and cracklin. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons sugar, optional
2 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vegetable PLUS bacon drippings, for skillet
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup milk
2-3 tablespoons melted butter PLUS bacon drippings
1 cup cracklin, optional

DIRECTIONS:

First, put about 1 tablespoon of oil or shortening in a skillet. If you have bacon drippings, add a little to the skillet for even more flavor. Heat the oven to 400° and place the skillet in the oven to preheat.

In the large bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups of white cornmeal with 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Using a wooden spoon or whisk, stir to blend the ingredients.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of buttermilk, 1 cup of low-fat or whole milk, and 2 large eggs. Using the wire whisk or a wooden spoon, whisk or lightly beat until blended.

Using a whisk or wooden spoon, slowly blend 2 to 3 tablespoons of melted butter (or oil) into the milk and egg mixture. If you have bacon drippings, add about 1 tablespoon of melted drippings in place of some of the butter.  Add cracklin and mix in.

Pour the egg and buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon just until ingredients are well moistened.

Carefully, using pot holders or oven mitts, take the skillet out of the oven and gently tilt the pan to swirl the fat around the sides. The hot greased skillet will help make a crustier cornbread. Pour the batter into the hot oiled skillet and spread evenly.

Put the pan into the oven and bake at 400° for 30 to 40 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Here's the finished hot baked cornbread, cut in wedges. Serve this delicious cornbread with a hearty stew, beans and rice, spicy chili, or serve with just about any family meal.

As an optional pan you can use the cast iron corn stick instead of the cast iron skillet.

 

 

Cornbread

 

 

Cornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads (a bread leavened chemically, rather than by yeast) containing cornmeal. As maize (also known as corn) is native to North America, it is not surprising that the various kinds of cornbreads are more prevalent in the New World. However, in Italy, the corn-based mush known as polenta is sometimes fashioned into a fried form resembling cornbread.

Native Americans were using ground corn for cooking long before the European explorers arrived in the New World. Cornbread was first discovered by Europeans during the European exploration of North America. Europeans who had to use the local resources for food, fashioned cornmeal into cornbread. Cornbread was popular during the American Civil War because it was very cheap and could be made in many different forms. It could be fashioned into high-rising, fluffy loaves or simply fried for a fast meal.

Types of cornbread
Cornbread is a popular item in soul food enjoyed by many people for its texture and scent. Cornbread can be baked, fried or, rarely, steamed. Steamed cornbreads are mushy, chewier and more akin to cornmeal pudding than what most consider to be traditional cornbread.

Baked cornbread
The most common variety, skillet-baked cornbread (often simply called skillet bread or hoecake depending on the container it's cooked in) is a traditional staple of rural cuisine in the United States, especially in the Southern United States which 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 buttermilk 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 will tend to be dense, meant more as an accompaniment than as a bread meant to stand on its own. In addition to the skillet method, such cornbread can also be made in sticks, muffins or loaves. In some parts of the South it is crumbled into a glass of cold buttermilk and eaten with a spoon. In rural areas of Virginia in the mid 20th century it, accompanied by pinto beans or honey, was a common lunch for poor children. It is often served with homemade butter.

Unlike fried types of cornbread, baked cornbread is a quick bread that is dependent on an egg-based protein matrix for its structure (though the addition of wheat flour adds gluten to increase its cohesiveness). The baking process gelatinizes the starch in the cornmeal, but still often leaves some hard starch to give the finished product a distinctive sandiness not typical of breads made from other grains.

From Wikipedia
 

 

What What What Recipe Box
© REED Technologies