Old-Fashioned Corn Bread

Ingredients

• 1  cup yellow cornmeal
• 1  cup all-purpose flour
• 1  tablespoon baking powder
• 2  tablespoons sugar
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 1/8  teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1  cup buttermilk
• 1/4  teaspoon baking soda
• 2  large eggs
• 5  tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 1  tablespoon vegetable shortening

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in oven 10 minutes.

2. Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and red pepper in a large bowl. Combine buttermilk and baking soda in a 2-cup glass measure. Beat eggs and butter in a small bowl, until blended. Add wet ingredients to cornmeal mixture, stirring with a rubber spatula until combined.

3. Add shortening to hot skillet; return skillet to oven 1 minute, until shortening is melted. Pour batter into hot skillet. Bake 20 to 22 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes. Cut into 8 wedges. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature. Makes 8 servings.

For cornsticks: Prepare corn bread as directed except heat 12 cornstick molds in oven 10 minutes. Brush molds with 1 tablespoon shortening. Return molds to oven and heat 1 minute. Divide batter between molds, spreading batter with the back of a spoon to fill each. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in center of cornsticks comes out clean. Cool cornsticks in pan on wire racks 5 minutes, then unmold. Makes 12 cornsticks.

Tips: We discovered that baking the bread in a cast-iron skillet instead of a baking pan produces the crispiest crust and a moist, tender interior. (This easy batter can be used to make a batch of cornsticks, too, if you prefer.)

Cornmeal is available in a variety of textures from coarse to fine—sometimes labeled stone-ground—and each will make a slightly different- textured bread.