Makes about a dozen johnnycakes
These bare-bones corn cakes have been a staple of the American diet for a long time. Made only with easy-to-find pantry staples, these little savory cakes traveled well. (The original name might have been journey cakes, which somehow switched to johnnycakes. Or maybe it’s jonnycakes. They’re also known as hoecakes in the South.) Native Americans in what’s now called the Northeast were growing corn before people immigrated to the United States from Europe. The new inhabitants of the area took to corn and corn cakes immediately. (The first written reference to hoecakes is in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1745.) Later, these cakes traveled with settlers as they moved farther west. I noticed references to them in the Little House on the Prairie books when I read them to our daughter, Lucy. Rhode Island residents claim that the johnnycake originated in that fierce, small state, and I don’t doubt them. Some Rhode Islanders like thick cakes and others like crisp, lacy ones like pancakes. This recipe works for the pancake-like johnnycake. And, they’re naturally gluten-free! If you haven’t made johnnycakes before, we want to make it easy for you to try.
Scald the milk. Set a small pot over medium heat. Pour in the milk. When it is steaming and simmering, almost about to boil, pull it off the heat.
Make the johnnycake batter. In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, milk, water, and salt. Whisk them together well.
Make the johnnycakes. Grease a large cast-iron skillet with the butter and set over medium-high heat. Before the skillet smokes, stir the batter again, then add 1 tablespoon of the johnnycake batter to the hot skillet and spread it out to make a 3-inch cake. Fill the pan spaciously. (You’ll probably get 6 to a pan.) Cook until the johnnycakes are browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Flip the johnnycakes and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the johnnycakes to a plate and cook the remaining batter. Serve immediately.
Note: Some folks from Rhode Island insist the only cornmeal to use in a johnnycake comes from Kenyon’s Grist Mill. I wish I could. Kenyon’s says on its website that they use the same millstone to grind both wheat and corn products. Gray’s Grist Mill in Massachusetts, only 100 feet shy of the Rhode Island border, mills only Narragansett white flint corn, but they do have wheat in their facility to make a pancake mix. Most often, we use Italian cornmeal, used to make polenta, for our johnnycakes, cornmeal we know has been made in a mill that only grinds corn. If you are not celiac and thus not as sensitive as I am to cross-contamination with gluten, feel free to seek out Kenyon’s cornmeal!