Southern Cornbread

Back in December I bought some cornmeal from the Mount Vernon Grist Mill. I finally got around to using it and made the most delicious cornbread!Just look how moist it is and that crust! Oh my!

Being married to a true Southerner, there's only one way cornbread gets made in this house.....in an iron skillet using buttermilk and butter and good corn meal. And, no sugar. Sweet cornbread is the Nothern version. Since I'm a hybrid (growing up in the north but living in most of my life in the south), I like both versions.

A used a combination of recipes and came up with this:

Southern Cornbread

2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
4 tbsp. unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 425 and place a 10 inch iron skillet on the lower rack.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients and set aside. In a smaller bowl, combine the buttermilk and eggs.

Remove the skillet from the oven after 10 minutes. Place the butter in the skillet and let it melt, swirling it around to coat the bottom and sides. It may sizzle and brown (that's ok). Place the skillet back in the oven.

Pour the butter into the buttermilk and egg mixture and mix til blended. Remove the skillet from the oven.

Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until moistened (the batter may be lumpy). Remove the skillet from the oven, pour in the batter and return to the oven. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool 10 minutes then turn onto a large plate or a cutting board.