Cast-iron skillet (12 inches/30 cm) or another baking dish of similar size.
Ingredients
1tablespoonslardbutter or bacon drippings
1 ½cupscornmealpreferably yellow 200 g
1cupall-purpose flour 125 g
¼cup+ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 75 g, Note 1
½teaspoonfine sea salt or Kosher
1tablespoonbaking powder
⅓cupunsalted butter70 g
1cupmilk250 ml
1large egg
1tablespoonbutter for brushing on top
Instructions
Preheat: Turn on the oven and set the temperature to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Place 1 tablespoon lard in the cast-iron skillet or another baking dish of similar size. Let the oven and the skillet preheat while you make the batter.
Melt butter in a saucepan that is large enough to hold the rest of the ingredients. Let cool for a couple of minutes while you mix the rest of the ingredients.
Mix dry ingredients: Whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder until no lumps remain.
Mix wet ingredients: Stir the milk into the melted butter. Combine well, then add the egg and whisk again.
Combine: Add dry ingredients to the wet ones. Stir shortly until the batter is just combined. Don’t overmix.
Bake: Carefully remove the skillet from the oven. Caution: it is very hot and heavy! Pour the batter into the pan and return the pan to the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Check with a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread; it should come out clean.
Brush: Immediately brush the cornbread with 1 tablespoon butter; it will melt on top of the hot bread.
Notes
You can use light brown sugar as well.
To avoid cornbread that’s too crumbly, make sure you measure the ingredients correctly; a digital kitchen scale is an amazing thing to have.
You can add other ingredients to the batter, like 4-5 slices cooked and crumbled bacon, 2-3 tablespoons chopped sun-dried tomatoes, fresh corn kernels, finely sliced green onions, or jalapenos, grated cheese. For Thanksgiving flavors, add some dried and chopped cranberries.
You can also bake muffins; they take about 15-20 minutes to bake; start checking after 15 minutes, a toothpick inserted in the middle of one muffin should come out clean. Grease the muffin tin thoroughly before adding the batter.