SOUTHERN CORNBREAD

Feeds 8

If you want a traditional southern cornbread, life is easy for you. This recipe from John Thorne’s brilliant book, Serious Pig, needs no improvement. The book, which is a series of essays and recipes on the joys of regional American cuisine, has been a great gift for us in creating this cookbook as well.

• 1 cup (160 grams) stone-ground cornmeal (make sure it’s gluten-free)
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 large egg
• ¾ cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon lard

Prepare to cook. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Whisk together the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.

Prepare the wet ingredients. Crack the egg into a small bowl. Beat it gently. Whisk in the buttermilk.

Prepare the pan. Put the lard into an 8-inch cast-iron skillet. Put it in the oven for 5 minutes.

Finish the batter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquids. Using a rubber spatula, stir them together until they are thoroughly combined.

Bake the cornbread. Take the hot skillet out of the oven carefully. Swirl the fat around the skillet and up the sides. Pour in the batter, which will sizzle, and stir it around quickly with the whisk. Bake until the cornbread is golden brown and the top is firm, about 20 minutes.

Turn the cornbread upside down onto a wire rack to remove it from the skillet. Cut it into wedges and serve.

Feel like playing?

If you have access to corn flour for the Northern Cornbread, you’ll have an even cornier cornbread. You could also add whole corn kernels. It’s hard to make a grain-free cornbread, if you consider corn a grain. But we’ve made a lovely bread using only buckwheat flakes with this recipe.