Baking · American
Skillet Cornbread for a Cold Evening
The right cornbread has a crisp shell from a screaming-hot pan, a tender open crumb inside, and a flavor like good corn — nothing else. This is that cornbread.
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Total
35 min
Serves
6
Cornbread is a regional argument we are not interested in settling. The South prefers it savory and unsweetened, baked in lard or bacon grease; the North often adds sugar and a heavier crumb. We sit closer to the Southern side, but we are not purists. A tablespoon of sugar deepens the corn flavor without crossing into cake territory.
The single most important step is preheating the cast-iron pan with butter in the oven until the butter is foaming and brown. The batter hits a hot, oily pan and forms an immediate crisp shell. Skip this step and the cornbread is just a soft yellow square.
Use coarse, stone-ground cornmeal if you can find it. The texture is everything.
Method
- Heat the oven. Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 425°F. The pan needs to be very hot when the batter goes in.
- Whisk the dry. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar if using, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
- Whisk the wet. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the buttermilk until smooth.
- Brown the butter in the pan. When the oven is hot, carefully remove the skillet and add the butter. Swirl until it is melted, foaming, and just starting to smell nutty — about 30 seconds. Pour all but about 2 tablespoons of the butter into the wet ingredients; leave the rest coating the pan.
- Mix and bake. Whisk the wet into the dry just until combined — a few lumps are fine. Pour the batter into the hot skillet (it should sizzle). Return to the oven and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until the top is golden and a tester comes out clean.
- Rest briefly. Let the cornbread rest in the pan for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges. Serve warm, with butter.
A cold pan gives you cornbread. A hot pan gives you crust. The crust is the point.
Notes & substitutions
- Buttermilk Real buttermilk works best. If you cannot find it, whisk 1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice into 1.5 cups of whole milk and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Make it richer Substitute half the butter with bacon fat. The cornbread will taste smoky and excellent with chili.
- Storage Best eaten the same day. Leftovers toast beautifully in a hot pan with butter for breakfast.
- No skillet? An 8x8 metal pan works. Heat it empty in the oven the same way.
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