Southern-Style Buttermilk Cornbread

I can still remember the smell of my Mom’s kitchen with cornbread baking in the oven. I used to love drizzling my big piece of cornbread with molasses, nothing was better than that moment…yum! The sweetness of that soft cornbread started my love affair with cornbread, all kinds of cornbread. We would usually eat cornbread as a snack drizzled with honey or for dinner with my Mom’s favorite chili.

My kids and I love any kind of cornbread with BBQ meals or with a big bowl of any kind of soup. Both cake-like Northern-Style Cornbread or bread-like Southern-Style Cornbread are widely available due to everyone sharing their recipes on the internet. But this Southern-Style Buttermilk Cornbread recipe is my absolute favorite cornbread!!!

The ratio of cornmeal to flour is 2:1 which makes the texture perfect. The addition of the buttermilk lightens it up and gives it the most delicious flavor but my favorite part is making it in a cast iron skillet!!! Oil is added to the skillet and it’s placed in the hot oven. As soon as the oil is super hot, the cornmeal batter is added to begin baking. This step gives the bottom and sides a perfect crisp crust that every piece of cornbread should have. I love cutting it in wedges too! The wedges are the perfect shape to put on a plate next to a bowl or a main dish serving.

WHAT IS SOUTHERN CORNBREAD?

You might not realize, as you make your favorite cornbread, that there is such a thing as different cornbreads based on regions. The differences have long been debated with strong opinions. Once you know a little more about the history of cornbread then it becomes clearer how the differences evolved.

Corn has always been a predominant crop in the southern United States. In the earlier centuries, wheat wouldn’t store well in the south because of all the heat and humidity so cornbread was the staple for bread. Corn pone is the earliest version of Southern-Style Cornbread. It was simply made in a cast iron skillet with lard, cornmeal, water, and salt; notice that there is no eggs or milk. Soon enough, other ingredients started to be introduced to the Corn Pone, such as, eggs, buttermilk, and a leavener like baking powder and/or baking soda.

Throughout the years between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, changes were made to the way corn was grown, dried, and milled which caused cornmeal to change in size and taste. Cornmeal started to be ground finer which caused it to lose some of it’s flavor. Wheat flour and sugar were added to accommodate these changes. This is why some Southern-Style Cornbread does have sugar in it. Regardless of this, Southerners still disagree whether true Southern-Style Cornbread should contain sugar or not. However, the one thing that they can both agree on is that Southern-Style Cornbread should be made in a screaming hot cast iron skillet.

Northern Style-Cornbread on the other hand is usually made in a baking dish. It is made with milk instead of buttermilk, butter, sugar, eggs, baking powder, salt, and a has ratio of 3:2 flour to cornmeal compared to the Southern-Style ration of 2:1 cornmeal to flour. From my experience living in both the northern and southern United States of America, true Northern Style-Cornbread is usually sweeter, lighter, and more cake-like than traditional bread-like Southern-Style Cornbread.

Today so many people have moved around the USA, shared cornbread recipes, and made their own versions that most cornbread recipes are a fusion of the two types. Customized cornbread is also really popular with additions like jalapeño and cheddar, bacon and chives, or whole corn kernels and green onions.

INGREDIENTS TO MAKE SOUTHERN-STYLE BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD

• Canola oil, to coat skillet
• Plain yellow cornmeal
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Whole buttermilk
• Unsalted butter
• Large eggs

HOW TO MAKE SOUTHERN-STYLE BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD

• Preheat oven to 425°F and add the canola oil to a 10-inch cast iron skillet.
• Place the skillet in the oven for 8 minutes until the oil is very hot.
• While the cast iron skillet is in the oven, prepare the cornbread batter.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
• In another medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
• Add the buttermilk mixture and stir until combined.
• Pour the batter carefully into the hot oil in the skillet.

• Bake for about 27-30 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cut into wedges.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.