Name: Southern-Style Cornbread for Northern Tastes
Total time: 55 min
Cuisine: Southern
Ingredients: 4 teaspoons bacon drippings or 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 teaspoon vegetable oil; 1 cup yellow cornmeal , preferably stone ground; 3 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1/2 teaspoon table salt; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 cup cake flour; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/3 cup water (rapidly boiling); 3/4 cup buttermilk; 1 large egg , beaten lightly

Why This Recipe Works

We wondered if our Southern-style cornbread recipe (white cornmeal and no flour or sugar) might have something to learn from our Northern-style cornbread recipe (yellow cornmeal, fair to generous portions of flour and sugar). Combining the two recipes to come up with a happy medium, we used yellow cornmeal for potent corn flavor, adding a small amount of sugar to enhance the natural sweetness of the corn. For this Northern-style variation, we also added some cake flour. We started with cornmeal mush (moistening the cornmeal with some water first) because cornbread that started with some mush had the most corn flavor we'd tasted yet, and it also produced a fine, moist crumb.

Before You Begin

The addition of extra sugar and cake flour moves this cornbread a small step away from its Southern roots. Though still very far removed from Northern- style cornbread, this version has a subtle sweetness and a very fine texture.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Set 8-inch cast-iron skillet with bacon fat (or vegetable oil) in heating oven.

Measure 1/3 cup cornmeal into medium bowl. Mix remaining cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, cake flour, and baking soda in small bowl; set aside.

Pour boiling water all at once into the 1/3 cup cornmeal; stir to make a stiff mush. Whisk in buttermilk gradually, breaking up lumps until smooth, then whisk in egg. When oven is preheated and skillet very hot, stir dry ingredients into mush mixture until just moistened. Carefully remove skillet from oven. Pour hot bacon fat (or melted butter) from the skillet into batter and stir to incorporate, then quickly pour batter into heated skillet. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and instantly turn cornbread onto wire rack; cool for 5 minutes, then serve immediately.