Buttermilk cornbread

This is perfect cornbread for me – substantial but not heavy, flavorful and moist. You can substitute plain yogurt mixed with milk or a combination of milk and vinegar if you don’t have buttermilk. Adapted from Allrecipes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cornmeal (fine grind is best; eg Albers)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (1/2 teaspoon if using unsalted butter)
• 2 teaspoons sugar (just to round out flavor) OR 2 tablespoons (a bit sweet) OR 1/4 cup sugar (straight up sweet)
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup plain yogurt mixed with 1/2 milk; or 1 cup milk mixed with 1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice)
• 2 eggs
• 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda, salt and sugar. Stir to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, mix buttermilk (or yogurt/milk, or milk/vinegar) and eggs, stirring until eggs are well beaten.
4. Pour wet mixture into the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
5. Heat butter in a 9- or 10-inch cast iron skillet on the stove or in an 8-inch square baking pan in the oven. Tilt pan to make sure butter coats bottom and sides of the pan, then pour excess butter into the cornbread batter. Mix melted butter into batter, then pour batter into hot pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until cornbread is golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Notes

• Bake cornbread until just done; it gets dry if overcooked.
• If you like a more rustic cornbread, use 1 1/2 cups cornmeal with 1/2 cup flour. You can also make cornbread with all cornmeal and no flour, but it will be less soft and more crumbly.
• Like beans in chili, sugar in cornbread can be a heated issue. Without adding sweetness, a bit of sugar rounds out the flavor, similar to a pinch of salt in sweets. And for those who prefer sweet, 1/4 cup gives a light sweetness without overwhelming the cornbread.
• I’m a sucker for butter, but you can substitute bacon grease or oil if you prefer.

Here’s a link back to the post and pictures.