Potatoes & Other Staples · American home cooking
Skillet Cornbread
A coarse cornmeal batter poured into a screaming-hot buttered skillet, baking into a golden, craggy round with a crisp rim and a tender, faintly sweet centre.
About this dish
The sizzle when the batter hits the hot skillet is what gives cornbread its dark, lacy edge, so the pan goes into the oven empty and comes out only to be filled. Mix the dry and wet ingredients apart and combine them at the last moment; overworking develops the wheat flour into a tough, cakey crumb. Buttermilk gives a faint tang and a tender lift. You will smell toasted corn and browned butter, and a skewer should come out with just a few moist crumbs.
Before you start
Equipment: Oven, Skillet. Tap the ingredient checkboxes as you go.
Method
7 steps · tick each one off as you finish it.
Heat the skillet
Put a 24 cm cast-iron skillet with 1 tbsp oil into the oven and preheat to 200 °C for 15 minutes. The fat should shimmer and run freely across the base; a cool pan gives a pale, soft edge.
Mix the dry
Whisk 180 g cornmeal, 120 g flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl for 20 seconds. The mix should look evenly sandy, with no pockets of pale baking powder.
Mix the wet
Beat 300 ml buttermilk, 120 ml egg and 60 g melted butter in a jug for 15 seconds, until evenly combined and pale yellow. Have it ready beside the dry mix so the two meet just before baking.
Combine briefly
Pour the wet mix into the dry and fold with a spatula for only 12 to 15 strokes. The batter should look thick, lumpy and just pourable; a smooth batter means the flour has been overworked into toughness.
Fill the hot pan
Using oven gloves, swirl the hot oil up the sides and pour the batter in one go; it should sizzle loudly at the rim. Smooth the top with one pass of the spatula and return the skillet to the oven at once.
Bake
Bake at 200 °C for 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is deep golden and cracked and a skewer comes out with just a few moist crumbs. The edge should have pulled slightly away from the hot skillet.
Cool and cut
Rest the cornbread in the skillet for 10 minutes so the crumb sets, then turn it out and cut into 6 wedges. The rim should stay crisp and dark while the centre stays tender and faintly sweet.
Tips that matter
- Preheat the empty skillet until the fat shimmers; a cool pan gives a pale, soft edge instead of the crisp rim.
- Stir the batter only a dozen strokes; lumps are fine and a smooth batter means you have overworked the flour.
Easy variations
- Fold 80 g sweetcorn kernels and 1 finely chopped chilli into the batter for a savoury, speckled bread.
- Replace 60 g of the milk with 60 ml buttermilk for a tangier, slightly lighter crumb.
Questions that come up
Why is my cornbread dry and crumbly?
Too much cornmeal or overbaking. Keep the 180 g to 120 g flour ratio and pull it as soon as a skewer shows moist crumbs.
Can I make it without a skillet?
Yes, use a greased 20 cm baking tin at 200 °C; you will lose the dark crisp rim but the centre stays the same.
Nutrition, roughly
| Energy | 280 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 40 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
Estimated per serving from standard ingredients, rounded. Treat it as a guide, not clinical data.
A Staple Cupboard That Earns Its Space
A short list of grains, flours and dried noodles, how long they actually keep, and what each one can become once it reaches the pan.
