Corn-Bred

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Meg Reilley photo

Corn bread

Southern-style corn bread.

Not too long ago, I was chatting with a friend—a lifelong Southerner who had relocated to northern California several years prior. Though she adores the Golden State’s rugged Pacific coastline, the ancient redwood forests, and the laid-back vibe, she relayed how profoundly much she missed Southern food. “What I wouldn’t give for some corn bread and collard greens,” she said, sighing. The state could keep its abundant avocados, award-winning vineyards, and orchards of almonds; she couldn’t shake the craving for a basket of hush puppies and a mug of iced sweet tea. 

Having experienced a parallel withdrawal myself, I knew exactly what she meant. After a life of living in the southeast U.S., I moved to Washington, D.C., the summer I turned 20. There I experienced Korean bulgogi, Salvadoran empanadas, and Ethiopian injera for the first time. I heard Yo Yo Ma perform (for free), took my time observing Alexander Calder sculptures in the National Gallery of Art (also free), and counted a veritable United Nations of individuals as close friends. The international cuisine, wealth of free art and cultural performances, and vast diversity, however, didn’t assuage a deep and abiding longing for the tastes of my upbringing. 

More specifically, I wanted corn bread—and not just any version would do. In a spectacularly Goldilocks fashion, I pined for a corn bread that possessed no added sugar, that had a moist interior and crumby exterior, and that was simultaneously smoky, salty, and naturally sweet. It would be baked with bacon grease and butter, and contain no trace of processed vegetable oils. Essentially, I wanted my grandmother’s corn bread, the kind she baked regularly, having learned from her own mother, my Mamaw.  

A deep affinity for corn bread, and all things corn, pervades the southeast U.S., and for good reason. Corn has been cultivated and consumed in the Southern Appalachian region—and throughout widely scattered parts of North and South America—for centuries, if not millennia. Having traveled north to Appalachia from Mexico by way of the southwest U.S., corn has been a consistent and ubiquitous element in regional cuisine for a very long time. Hoecakes, hominy, hush puppies, corn cakes, spoon bread, suppone—there have been as many names for corn-based dishes in this area as there have been permutations for preparing it. That’s before even considering its non-edible uses, such as made into livestock feed or rendered into moonshine.  

Given such a long-term association with corn—owing both to its iconic Southern food status and my own family’s love affair with the stuff—it stands to reason that corn bread now regularly makes appearances on my kitchen table. I’ve been honing my corn bread recipe for some time, adjusting the type of cornmeal I find most preferable (medium-grind), the fats utilized (a blend of butter and bacon grease), and the liquid employed to bring it all together (buttermilk, forever and ever, amen). 

The version I’m offering here is as close to the way I remember it being prepared by my ancestors as I can recall, my great-grandmother and grandmother no longer around to confirm or deny my recipe. I recommend a heavy pat of butter, and if you’re feeling sweet, a generous spread of apple butter, come serving time. Maybe I’ll bake up a batch and send it to my homesick friend in California. Then all she’d need to make her Southern soul soar is a screened-in porch with a swing and overhead fan and some Dolly Parton on rotation.

Southern-Style Corn Bread

Makes 6-8 servings

You Will Need

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons bacon grease*
• 1 ¼ cup yellow cornmeal, medium grind
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups whole fat buttermilk, room temperature
• 3 eggs, room temperature

*Note: For a vegetarian version, replace bacon grease with an equal amount of butter. 

To Prepare

1) Turn the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the butter and bacon grease (if using) into a 9-inch cast-iron skillet. Put the pan in the oven, allowing the fats to melt and the pan to heat while you prepare the batter. 

2) In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. 

3) In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs. Remove the heated pan from the oven, and carefully pour all but several teaspoons of the melted fat into the bowl. Whisk until fully combined. 

4) Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet, combining just until the batter is free of lumps. 

5) Pour the batter into the heated pan. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the sides of the corn bread begin to pull away from the edges of the pan. Cool 10-15 minutes before serving. 

About the author: Candler, N.C., homesteader Ashley English is the author of seven books. See smallmeasure.com.