Skillet Cornbread

Name: Skillet Cornbread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 180 g (1¼ cups) medium-grind cornmeal (polenta); 125 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour; 40 g (3 tbsp) sugar; 10 g (2½ tsp) baking powder; 3 g (½ tsp) baking soda; 6 g (1 tsp) fine sea salt; 360 g (1½ cups) buttermilk; 2 large eggs (about 100 g without shells); 85 g (6 tbsp) unsalted butter, 60 g melted for the batter, 25 g for the pan

Crisp-edged, golden and just sweet enough, baked in a sizzling pan

Makes: 1 round (25 cm / 10 in skillet)
Hands-on: 15 min
Total: 50 min
Level: Easy

Batter poured into a preheated, buttered cast-iron pan sizzles on contact and bakes up with a crunchy, deeply golden crust and a moist, tender crumb. This version sits between the savory Southern style and the sweet Northern one, so it works beside chili and barbecue alike.

Ingredients

180 gmedium-grind cornmeal (polenta) (1¼ cups)
125 gall-purpose flour (1 cup)
40 gsugar (3 tbsp)
10 gbaking powder (2½ tsp)
3 gbaking soda (½ tsp)
6 gfine sea salt (1 tsp)
360 gbuttermilk (1½ cups)
2large eggs (about 100 g without shells)
85 gunsalted butter (6 tbsp)60 g melted for the batter, 25 g for the pan

Diet: Vegetarian
Allergens: gluten, egg, milk
Origin: United States (South)

Method

Put a 25 cm (10 in) cast-iron skillet on the middle rack and heat the oven to 220°C (425°F). 15 min
In a large bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Melt 60 g of the butter.
In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk and eggs, then whisk in the melted butter. Pour into the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined; a few lumps are fine. Rest 5 minutes while the cornmeal softens. 5 min
Take the hot skillet out with a thick oven glove. Add the remaining 25 g butter and swirl until melted and foaming, coating the sides.
Pour in the batter; it should sizzle at the edges. Bake 20–25 minutes, until deep golden, the edges have pulled away from the pan and a skewer in the center comes out clean. 22 min
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve warm, with butter. 5 min

Why it works

The hot, buttered pan starts cooking and browning the outside of the batter instantly, giving cornbread its signature crunchy crust. Buttermilk's acid reacts with baking soda for a quick lift and tenderizes the crumb, and a short rest lets the cornmeal absorb liquid so the bread is moist rather than gritty.

Common mistakes

Pouring batter into a cold pan. You lose the crisp crust entirely.
Overmixing, which develops gluten in the flour and makes cornbread tough and tunnelled.
Overbaking. Cornbread dries quickly; check at 20 minutes.

Variations

Jalapeño cheddar: Fold 100 g grated sharp cheddar and 1–2 finely chopped jalapeños into the batter.
No skillet: Bake in a buttered 20 cm (8 in) square metal pan, preheated the same way, for 22–28 minutes.

Make ahead and storage

Best warm on the day. Keeps 2 days wrapped; reheat wedges at 180°C (350°F) for 8 minutes. Freezes for 2 months.

Notes

Fan oven: 200°C (390°F). No buttermilk: stir 15 ml lemon juice into 345 ml milk and rest 5 minutes. Not a yeast bread, so no hydration figure applies. It is a soft, cake-like quick bread made from cornmeal and baked in a skillet; for a crusty wheat loaf leavened the same quick way, see Irish Soda Bread.