Cornbread is baked into our American DNA. At the nation’s beginnings, colonists had no access to wheat flour, so replaced it with what was available — ground, dried corn (cornmeal). They baked their humble loaves in an alcove of the fireplace. (Some of these fireplaces can still be found in Marblehead.) Farmers and soldiers, in their disparate fields, baked cornmeal “hoecakes” using farm implements to hold them over open wood fires.
Over centuries, Americans developed an affinity for cornbread. Each region developed its own tweaks and accents. In New England the recipes are sweet enough to stand in for cake batter plopped into a pie plate of spiced apples or mixed berries for “cobblers”.
And as recently as a few decades ago, cornbread still appeared beside the scrambled eggs and baked beans at political unity breakfasts.
Southern recipes, more savory than sweet, enhance breakfast, brunch and barbecue. It also appears as a popular after-school snack crumbled into a glass of cold milk. Chef Edna Lewis offered a Virginia landmark recipe in her memoir-cookbook, “The Taste of Country Cooking.” In New Orleans, home and professional cooks jazz up a remarkable loaf with bacon, vegetables and cheese.
Three basic hints assure good results:
- First, bring all ingredients to room temperature before starting the recipe.
- Second, stir the ingredients until just combined. Don’t mix too enthusiastically. Overlook a few lumps to ensure a good crumb.
- And last, be sure to preheat the oven for even baking.
EDNA LEWIS’ CLASSIC CORNBREAD
Makes 5 to 6 servings.
Based closely on a recipe from “The Taste of Country Cooking” by Edna Lewis.
2 cups sifted white cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon lard
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups buttermilk
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together cornmeal, salt, baking powder in a bowl.
Stir in beaten eggs.
Place lard and butter into a 9×10-inch baking pan; transfer the pan to the oven.
Stir the buttermilk into cornmeal mixture.
Do this step very quickly. Remove the pan from the oven. (It should actively sizzle.)
Tilt to coat the bottom with the melted fats. Immediately pour the batter into the hot pan.
Transfer pan to the oven to bake, 26 to 30 minutes. Remove; cut into squares while still hot.
PEPPER AND ONION CORNBREAD, NEW ORLEANS-STYLE
Makes one 8×8 square pan.
Vidalia onions, when available, add a particular sweetness. Best hot or still warm from the oven, slathered with sweet butter.
Some cooks enhance this recipe adding chopped hot peppers.
3 slices bacon
1 small, sweet onion, finely chopped
1 scallion, finely chopped
½ cup chopped red and green peppers
1 to 3 small dried hot peppers, seeded and chopped (optional)
1 ½ cups yellow cornmeal
½ cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 small can cream-style corn
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 450F. Oil an 8×8-inch square baking pan; place it in the oven.
Cook the bacon until crisp. Remove from pan; place on paper towels to drain.
Pour the fat from the pan, leaving 1 tablespoon for cooking. Crumble bacon.
Heat the bacon fat in the skillet. Add onions, peppers, and hot peppers (if using).
Cook until tender. Set aside.
Combine cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder. Stir in the cheese, cooked vegetables, eggs, corn, buttermilk and bacon.
Take the hot baking pan out of the oven. Pour the cornmeal mixture right into the pan while very hot. (The pan will sizzle.)
Bake 20 to 25 minutes until bread pulls away from the sides of the pan. When out of the oven; cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes so it cuts easily.
Linda Bassett lived in Marblehead for years and has worked as a cook, trained up-and-coming chefs, studied food history and led food tours. Her book, “From Apple Pie to Pad Thai,” is about local cooks and cooking.
