Southern Corn Bread

Chef

Rick Rodgers

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Cookbook

Thanksgiving 101: Celebrate America's Favorite Holiday with America's Thanksgiving Expert

Published by Broadway

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This image courtesy of Joseph DeLeo

Editor's Note: Get a taste of the South with this old-fashioned cornbread recipe. This Southern Corn Bread can be enjoyed in a variety of ways; it can be made fresh to accompany dinner, or it can be made in advance for your favorite stuffing or dressing recipe. This recipe calls for regular milk instead of traditional buttermilk, making it the perfect pantry recipe that doesn't require a special trip to the store. The combination of milk and melted butter gives the cornbread its moist texture.

This is the one to use for dressing, or if your tastes run to firm com bread. Use white or yellow cornmeal, according to what your Granny taught you.

Serves12 servings, or 10 cups crumbled corn bread for stuffing

Cooking MethodBaking

CostInexpensive

Easy

Total Timeunder 1 hour

Make Ahead RecipeYes

Kid FriendlyYes

One Pot MealYes

Recipe CourseSide Dish

EquipmentBaking/gratin Dish

Five Ingredients or LessYes

MealDinner

Taste and TextureSavory

Type of DishCorn Bread

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white or yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
6 tablespoons (½ stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten

Instructions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a 9 × 13-inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt well to combine. Make a well in the center, and pour in the milk, melted butter, and eggs. Stir just until combined. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. (The corn bread can be baked up to 8 hours ahead. To reheat, cool and cut it into serving pieces. Wrap in aluminum foil, about 6 pieces to a package, and bake in a preheated 350°F oven for about 15 minutes.)
Cut the corn bread into serving pieces, and remove from the pan with a spatula. Serve warm.

Make Ahead

Corn bread is best freshly baked, but it can be made up to 8 hours ahead.
Corn bread for stuffing can be baked up to 1 month ahead, cooled, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and an overwrap of aluminum foil, and frozen. Or bake up to 2 days ahead and store at room temperature.
To use for stuffing, crumble the corn bread onto baking sheets. Let stand overnight at room temperature to dry out. Or bake in a preheated 350°F oven, stirring occasionally, until slightly dried out but not toasted, about 20 minutes.