Modified from “Etta’s Cornbread” in Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen
Every good Southern cook probably has a prized recipe or two for cornbread. I like mine buttery, slightly crumbly but not dry, with a touch of sweetness and a crispy crust. I adapted this recipe for gluten-free cornbread from one of my favorite cookbooks, Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen. Tom Douglas is a big time chef and restaurant owner in the Pacific Northwest, and James Beard Award recipient, but he has Southern roots that show through in many of his innovative recipes. I love this cornbread – it is great on its own with a bowl of chili, or dress it up in his recipe for Cornbread Pudding – a dish that you won’t soon forget. (You will probably see me posting it around Thanksgiving, if you don’t have the cookbook.) Although I changed it the recipe to make it gluten-free, we couldn’t tell the difference!
I don’t remember where I learned this, but one secret for a crispy crust on your cornbread is to cook it in a cast iron skillet. While you do the final mixing of the ingredients, heat the skillet on the stove until it is searing hot – quickly throw in some butter and swirl it around to coat the pan (but don’t burn it), then pour the batter into the hot pan and put it in the oven. The hot cast iron gives the crust a head start.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup stone ground yellow cornmeal, medium-ground (pure cornmeal, NOT cornbread mix)
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup grated Jack cheese (the hard, aged Jack cheese) or Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup milk or half & half
- 2-3 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ~1 tablespoon butter or ghee for pan
Preheat oven to 425F. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk eggs, milk, and honey together.
Add wet ingredients to dry – stir until just combined. Stir in melted butter.
Heat a 8- or 9-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat until searing hot. Add a pat of butter and quickly swirl around until melted. Pour the batter into the hot pan over the heat. Smooth out so that batter covers pan if necessary. Place skillet in oven. Bake until browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cornbread comes out clean (15-20 minutes). Let cook slightly, then invert to remove cornbread from the pan. Slice it up and eat it, with more butter, if desired!
Smooth and delicious was the cornbread, so shall be the soundtrack! Two legendary musicians, Lester Young with Oscar Peterson Trio
I always use cast iron, but need to remember to do the heat the butter trick. This looks great.
My grandmoma would be proud – the trick to a good cornbread is a hot pan and grease! We always heat ours in the oven before pouring the batter; not only because that’s the way she always did it, but it saves you the trouble of potentially burning your grease, and having to move the pan from stovetop to oven. If the batter sizzles when you pour it in, it’s going to be good!
Yum! I might just have to make some when I get home.
That’s a great idea – and energy saving too. I will do that next time! Thanks!
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I made this to go with soup this evening. It was wonderful! Thank you for the recipe! I’m going to go check out the cornbread pudding now!
Soup and cornbread sounds wonderful! Hope you get a chance to try the cornbread pudding too. Thanks for the comment, Patti!
What sort of adjustment should I be looking at for a 10″ skillet?
It depends on if you mind your cornbread being thinner or not. If you cook the recipe “as is”, you may want to reduce the oven temp to 400F and/or cook it for a little less time. I’m guessing 15 minutes at the most.
If you’d like thicker cornbread, I would consider increasing the ingredients by 1/2. For example, instead of 1 cup of flour, add 1 1/2 cups. Instead of 2 eggs, add 3 eggs. I would cook it the same way, but would expect it to be done in 20 to 25 minutes.
Hope that helps!