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Crackling Corn Bread

Homemade corn bread adds a touch of something extra

Corn bread is delicious spread with butter and drizzled with honey. Pair it with a fruit smoothie for breakfast, a mug of soup or chili for lunch, or ribs and coleslaw for dinner.

If you usually make corn bread from a mix, imagine how much more delicious it would be if you made your own. You have to add eggs, milk and oil to most mixes, anyway, so starting from scratch is almost as easy. You can get good results in glass or metal pan, but baking corn bread in a cast-iron skillet creates crispy brown edges and a perfectly moist center. Heating the empty skillet along with the oven is the secret. (Remember that the skillet handle will be hot.)

Here are more tips:

• Buttermilk is the liquid of choice; it produces a moist, tender interior.
• Stone-ground cornmeal produces a better texture and taste than commercial cornmeal. Just remember to store it in the freezer to prevent rancidity.
• Use a light hand and don't worry about a few lumps; over-mixed corn bread can be dry.
• When the corn bread is done, flip it out of the skillet quickly to keep moisture from collecting underneath and softening the crust.
• Corn bread freezes beautifully, so consider making two batches at once. Allow the second bread to cool completely, then wrap in foil and freeze. To serve, heat the still-frozen and wrapped bread at 400 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes.

Crackling Corn Bread

Makes 8 servings

• 1 cup stone-ground cornmeal (white or yellow)
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup crisp-cooked, diced bacon (about 2/3 pound)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 egg, slightly beaten

 

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven. (Or use an 8-or 9-inch square baking pan.)

Stir the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Then stir in the buttermilk, bacon, 6 tablespoons of the melted butter and the egg; mix gently.

Swirl the remaining 2 tablespoons butter around the hot pan. Pour in the batter, set the pan on the center rack of the oven, and bake 20 minutes. The corn bread is done when the edges are lightly browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Turn the bread out of the skillet onto a wire rack to cool. Cut into wedges and serve.

Per serving: 260 calories (56 percent from fat), 16 g fat (9 g saturated), 71 mg cholesterol, 6.8 g protein, 22.2 g carbohydrates, 0.4 g fiber, 504.4 mg sodium.

(Adapted from “Silver Palate Cookbook 25th Anniversary Edition” by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, Workman.)

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