Southern Skillet Cornbread

Before you start

Southern-style skillet cornbread is mostly cornmeal with only a little flour, tangy with buttermilk and sweetened lightly if at all. What makes it distinctive is the pan: batter poured into a smoking-hot greased cast iron skillet sizzles on contact and fries into a deeply browned, crunchy bottom and edge.

The skillet has to be truly hot, so it heats in the oven with the fat while you mix. Use stone-ground or medium-grind cornmeal for a coarser, corn-forward crumb; very fine cornmeal gives a softer, cakier texture. Expect a sturdy, slightly crumbly bread meant for beans, greens, chili or crumbling into buttermilk, not a dessert-like slice.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp bacon drippings or unsalted butter — for the skillet
• 210 g (1½ cups) yellow or white cornmeal — medium grind or stone-ground
• 60 g (½ cup) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar — optional
• 420 ml (1¾ cups) buttermilk — shaken well
• 2 large eggs
• 45 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter — melted

Method

1. Put the bacon drippings or butter in the skillet and set it on the center rack. Heat the oven to 220°C (425°F) with the skillet inside, about 10 minutes, so the fat is shimmering by the time the batter is ready.
2. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar if using in the large bowl.
3. In the medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk and eggs until smooth, then whisk in the melted butter. If the butter clumps in the cold buttermilk, that is fine.
4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir with a whisk or spoon just until combined. The batter should be pourable, like thick pancake batter; lumps are fine.
5. Using mitts, take out the hot skillet and swirl the fat to coat the bottom and sides. Pour in the batter all at once. It should sizzle loudly at the edges.
6. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, until the top is golden, the edges have pulled away from the pan and look deep brown, and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
7. Rest the cornbread in the skillet for 5 minutes, then cut it into wedges in the pan or invert it onto a board to keep the bottom crisp. Serve warm.

Tips for success

• Listen for the sizzle. If the batter does not hiss when it hits the pan, the skillet was not hot enough and the crust will be soft; give it longer in the oven next time.
• Let the batter stand for 5 minutes after mixing if you use stone-ground cornmeal. The meal softens slightly and the bread is less gritty.
• Turn the cornbread out onto a rack or board rather than leaving it in the skillet for long. Trapped steam softens the bottom crust.

Substitutions

Buttermilk

Mix 360 ml milk with 60 ml plain yogurt, or sour 420 ml milk with 1½ tablespoons lemon juice. The tang is milder and the crumb a little less tender.

Bacon drippings

Butter, lard or a high-heat oil all work in the skillet. Butter browns faster, so watch it during preheating and add the batter as soon as it foams and smells nutty.

All-purpose flour

Leave the flour out and use 270 g cornmeal in total for an all-cornmeal bread. It will be more crumbly and coarse; check labels if you need it gluten-free.

Variations

Jalapeño cheddar

Fold 80 g grated sharp cheddar and 1 seeded, minced jalapeño into the batter. Scatter a little extra cheese over the top before baking.

Cracklin' cornbread

Stir 60 g crumbled crisp pork cracklings or chopped cooked bacon into the batter, and use bacon drippings in the skillet.

Troubleshooting

Cornbread is dry and crumbly

Overbaking or very coarse meal with too little liquid. Pull it as soon as the toothpick comes out clean, and let stone-ground meal soak in the batter for 5 minutes before baking.

Bottom stuck to the pan

The skillet was not well seasoned or not hot enough with fat. Heat the fat until it shimmers, coat the sides as well as the bottom, and loosen the edges with a thin spatula before turning out.

Bitter or soapy aftertaste

Leavening was not evenly whisked in or was overmeasured. Level the spoons and whisk the dry ingredients for a full 20 seconds.

Storage

Cornbread is best the day it is baked. Wrap cooled leftovers and keep them at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5. Reheat wedges in a hot skillet with a little butter to bring back the crust. Freeze for up to 2 months.

Safety notes

Handle the preheated skillet with dry, thick oven mitts; cast iron stays hot long after it leaves the oven. Contains wheat, egg and milk.