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Corn Bread

dud-dud's picture
dud-dud

Corn Bread

I've just made some great nann breads, now I want to try corn bread and have looked at the The Fresh Loaf recipe.

I'm missing something I'm sure but what is 1/4 sugar and 1/3 veg. oil?  1/4 what?  Lb. oz. gm. pint?

Please help a dud!

dud-dud

charbono's picture
charbono

Cup

 

Ford's picture
Ford

  Forget the Yankee recipes.  Here is the straight recipe for Southern Cornbread!

 

 

 Corn Bread

See recipe for Cornmeal Pancakes or recipe for Cornpone (double this one).  Leftover batter may be refrigerated for as long as a day.  Preheat oven to 400°F.  For best results, use a cast iron skillet.  Place the skillet in the preheated oven for five minutes.  Add about two tablespoons of bacon fat (vegetable oil can be used) to the hot skillet and tilt the pan to grease the sides and bottom.  Pour the batter into the hot greased skillet then place it into the preheated oven.  Bake at 400°F for about 30 - 45 minutes or until firm and brown on top.  An instant reading thermometer inserted to the center should read 200°F.  If a glass or lightweight baking dish is used, do not preheat the dish in the oven.  However, be sure the dish is well greased before adding the batter.

  

Cornmeal Pancakes

 2 extra large eggs (4.0 oz, 112 g) (or jumbo size, 4.4 oz., 126 g), separated and at room temperature

1/4 tspn. cream of tartar

1 Tbs. (0.9 oz., 24 g) sugar

1/3 cup (2.7 oz., 77 g)) vegetable oil (or melted bacon fat)

1 tspn. (0.2oz., 5 g)  salt

2 tspn. (0.25 oz., 8 g) double acting baking powder

1/2 tspn. baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

1 1/2 cup (7.5 oz., 212 g) white corn meal

1/2 cup (2 oz. 57 g) unbleached all-purpose flour

2 cups (17.2 oz., 488 g) buttermilk

(1/4 tspn. mace – gives a distinctive flavor)

 

 

Place the room temperature egg whites in a clean stainless steel, or copper, or glass, or glazed pottery bowl (not plastic).  Add the cream of tartar and the sugar.  Whip the egg whites until firm peaks will form.  A wire whisk is best for this.  (If grease or egg yolk is present the whites will not whip easily.  The possible presence of grease is the reason for not using plastic for whipping egg whites)

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are a light yellow color.  Gradually beat in the oil until homogeneous mixture results.  Stir in the baking powder, salt, baking soda, and, if you wish, mace.  Add the corn meal, the flour, and the buttermilk, then beat until smooth.  Fold in the beaten egg whites.  Do not over mix.  Let the batter stand at room temperature for about one hour or longer.

Bake as griddle cakes on a hot griddle, turning only once when the bubbles appear on the surface.  Serve piping hot with melted, real butter and hot, real maple syrup.

Leftover batter may be poured into a greased baking dish, refrigerated for as long as a day, and baked at 400°F for about 30 - 45 minutes or until firm and brown on top.  May also be baked as cornpone.

This recipe was inspired by the corn cakes my Grandfather Thompson made when I (Ford) was a child.  It has gone through many metamorphoses since I first tried to recreate the result.  My brother, Tommy, says that Granddad would laugh at all the steps in this one.  I am sure he would, but this is NOT his recipe.  I will say that his were thinner; these are lighter.

 

 

Cornpone (Corn Sticks)

1 extra large egg (or jumbo size)

1/4 tspn. cream of tartar

3 Tbs. (1.5 oz., 43 g) melted bacon fat (or vegetable oil)

1/2 tspn. salt

1 tspn. double acting baking powder

1/2 tspn. baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

3/4 cup (3.2 oz., 106 g) white corn meal

1/4 cup (1 oz., 29b g) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup (8.6 oz., 244 g) buttermilk

 

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg with a wire whisk or electric beater, and slowly add the melted bacon fat.  Beat in the cream of tarter, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Add cornmeal, flour, and buttermilk and stir until all is smooth.  Let the batter stand for an hour to let the cornmeal absorb the liquid.

Grease well the cast iron corn pone pans with bacon fat (or vegetable oil) and place them in the preheated oven for about 4 – 5 minutes.  Fill the corn stick depressions to about two-thirds full.  The recipe makes about 15 – 16 sticks.  Immediately place the pans in the 400°F oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the sticks are brown and firm to the touch.  Immediately remove the sticks form the pan and serve piping hot for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack.  They are also good at room temperature.

This same recipe may be doubled and used for Corn Bread (See above.)

 Ford

Rube Goldberg's picture
Rube Goldberg

Nobody north of the Mason-Dixon line can make corn bread or grits neither!! :)

Ford's picture
Ford

Save your confederate money, boys.  The South will rise again!  ;-}

Ford

dud-dud's picture
dud-dud

Thanks everyone for your help.

dud-dud.