Skillet Cornbread Recipe (from scratch) (2024)

FAQs

Is cornbread better in a cast-iron skillet? ›

Use cast iron

The first step to great cornbread is a cast iron baking vessel. You can't go wrong with a 10.25 Inch Skillet, but if you want to mix it up, you can pull out a Muffin Pan, Wedge Pan, or Cornstick Pan (of course!).

If you have a cast-iron pan, this is the time to use it. The heavy, heat-retaining material will give you the darkest color (which equals the most flavor). But any large ovenproof skillet will work.

The thing that distinguishes Southern cornbread from, say Yankee cornbread, or any other cornbread one is likely to eat outside of the southern states, is that it is savory, not sweet, and it is made mostly with cornmeal.

The most common reason food sticks to cast iron is because the pan is simply too hot. Because cast iron retains heat much better than other types of cookware, you generally don't need to use as high of a heat setting as you normally would with stainless steel or aluminum cookware.

Glass, ceramic, and cast iron work best, but you can also use metal baking dishes.

For one, cast iron pans aren't perfectly smooth and foods like eggs may get stuck. For the best results, make sure to keep your cast iron pan seasoned, and preheat the skillet for a few minutes before you add any food to it. This allows the pan to heat evenly and prevents most food from sticking. Add fat as needed.

Set the batter aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

By letting the cornbread batter sit at room temperature before baking, the cornmeal has some extra time to absorb the flavor from the other ingredients, and the baking powder gets a head start.

The consistency of the batter should be a bit like pancake batter—a little on the thin side. Thick batter can result in dry texture and cornbread that crumbles easily after baking. If you feel your batter is too thick, simply add a splash of extra milk.

The most common theory is a change in cornmeal itself. Until early in the 20th century, Southern cornmeal was made with sweeter white corn and it was water-ground. When industrial milling came along, that changed. The steel-roller mills used yellow corn that was harvested before it was ripe, so it had less sugar.

Southerners, on the other hand, tend to prefer white cornmeal. Many people believe that it is because, in the old South, families used white cornmeal as it more closely resembled “fancy” European wheat flour. In any case, today it remains a main component in traditional Southern buttermilk cornbread.

What did Native Americans call cornbread? ›

Among them was a version of Indian bread made of cornmeal, salt and water called pone or corn pone. The name came from the Algonquin word apan, meaning "baked." The Narragansett word for cornbread, nokechick, became no-cake and then hoe-cake.

Her secret for the best cornbread — and one to adopt whether you are baking from a box mix or from scratch — is to preheat her cast iron skillet before adding the batter. Preheating a cast iron pan before baking cornbread in it makes for a crisp, sturdy crust on an otherwise delicate bread.

To achieve the crispiest golden crust on your cornbread, Delk Adams instructs you to grease the skillet liberally with bacon grease (if you don't have that, shortening, butter, or oil will do), then pop it into the hot oven for 5 minutes before pouring the batter in.

But there's one dish that nothing but a cast iron skillet will do: cornbread. Why? If you bake it in anything else cornbread will not achieve the desired crispy crust.

When I make cornbread I put butter in the pan (cast iron), enough so that when melted it comes up the sides as the batter is poured in, this creates crispy edges and prevents sticking. Heat the pan with the butter in the oven until it's sizzling, then pour in your batter, then bake.

Cast iron cookware makes food taste better.

Thanks to cast iron's incredible heat retention, there's no better way to get crispy fried chicken, flavorful roasted veggies, or a perfect loaf of bread.

The Best Foods to Cook in Cast Iron Pans

Pan-seared veggies and proteins. Fatty foods like bacon. Burgers.