Delicate Corn Bread
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the milk, baking soda (or powder), lard, and salt.
Stir in enough cornmeal to achieve a batter consistency similar to sponge cake.
Bake and serve
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Milk
- Provides the liquid that hydrates the cornmeal and gives the batter its moisture.
- Baking soda or baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the cornbread rise and become light.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and contributes to browning.
- Cornmeal
- Forms the body of the batter and sets into the cornbread's structure as it bakes.
The step that matters
Stir in the cornmeal to the right consistency. Cornmeal absorbs liquid as it sits and bakes, so the batter must be thick enough to hold its shape yet pourable. Too much cornmeal makes the bread dry and crumbly, while too little leaves it dense and gummy.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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