Authentic Cornbread
Dry ingredients:
- 1.5 cup cornmeal
- 0.5 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- (optional) pepper
Wet ingredients:
- 1/2 cup bacon grease (or lard)
- 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
- 1 extra-large egg (or two small ones), lightly beaten
Variation:
Civil War cornbread... Use all cornmeal, no flour;
leave out the baking powder, baking soda, and sugar (field soldiers didn't
carry around a lot of ingredients).
Equipment:
- A fork
- Two mixing bowls
- A real, well-seasoned cast-iron frying pan
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 425-450 degrees
- Mix dry ingredients
- Mix wet ingredients
- Mix wet and dry ingredients together (with fork, should be lumpy)
(Add liquid ingredients little by little)
- Heat bacon grease in cast-iron frying pan until "wavy-hot"
- Pour most of the bacon grease into the batter but leave some in the pan
- Put the batter in the skillet (it should sizzle and pop)
- Cook on stove top about 1 minute
- Bake in oven 425-450 degrees 20-25 minutes
- Take out of pan immediately