Cornbread

     The Mister has fond memories of his mother's cornbread. He has been trying to recreate it without success. I thought his recipe (the one printed on the bag of cornmeal) may have been lacking; it called for equal amounts of flour and cornmeal, and to me, that is a red flag. 

     A couple of weeks ago, we had a "Cornbread Cook-off." There was no real winner. We used slightly different recipes and different techniques, but both batches turned out dry and did not rise well. I thought there may have been something wrong with the baking powder, but it was recently purchased. 

     I tried again last week with a different recipe altogether and came closer, so I tweaked it and tried again. I finally believe I hit the nail on the head. 

     Cornbread, to me, should taste like corn, and have a moist, tender, and delicate texture. There is a regional debate and strong feelings regarding sugar in cornbread. I like a hint of sweetness but not "dessert" sweet. This recipe checks the boxes in all categories. I do realize that nothing is going to taste as good as the memory of "how Mom used to make it," but I'm okay with that!

                       Cornbread

1 3/4 cup cornmeal

2/3 cup flour

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups buttermilk (You can use substitutions, but I was shocked that the real thing does seem to make a very positive difference)

     Preheat oven to 450F. Grease or spray an 8x8 square cake pan. I have a 6 1/2 x 9 rectangular cake pan that works fine. Tradition calls for a cast iron skillet, and go ahead and use an 8-inch round if you want to, but I just haven't had good luck with it.

     Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine eggs and buttermilk. Stir wet and dry together and scrape into your prepared cake pan. Bake 15-18 minutes and check for doneness. Know that dry cornbread is not your friend.

     Invert baked cornbread onto a plate, and cut into squares. Serve hot with butter! We enjoyed this cornbread last week with chili (March 2020 recipe).