Sourdough Cast-iron Skillet Cornbread
Diane Zatz is a design educator who grows vegetables and cooks obsessively when not clicking on a computer keyboard.
When I discovered this recipe by Sourdough Brandon, I found a winner. I always have discard sourdough, and I hate to discard it.
I grew heirloom corn from Slow Foods USA Ark of Taste seeds this summer as an experiment and had no idea what to do with the dried ears of grain corn. The recipe calls for discard or active sourdough starter and medium ground cornmeal, so I took a leap and ground my corn in a blender. This gave it extra texture and intense flavor. I have made this so many times in the last weeks that once the homegrown corn was depleted, I began to use blender-ground Cope’s Dried Sweet Corn, a Pennsylvania Dutch specialty that can’t be beaten. But commercial cornmeal will work well. I use dried buttermilk powder, a pantry staple I always keep on hand.
This is the easiest, most “corny” bread, and tastes even better toasted. It takes five minutes to mix up the ingredients in one bowl, 20 minutes to cook, and only the hot cast iron skillet keeps hands off until it’s cooled enough to serve.
Ingredients
- 100 grams (¾ cup) dried corn ground or cornmeal
- 100 grams (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons buttermilk powder
- 2 eggs
- 150 grams (¾ cup) sourdough starter, active or discard
- 120 grams (⅓ cup) honey
- 50 grams (¼ cup) vegetable oil
- 43 grams (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter
Add spices such as thyme or rosemary, and add a dash of tomato powder or smoky paprika to the top for variety. We recommend our versatile, curated collection by our partners at Burlap & Barrel.
Preparation
- Place a dry cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat the oven to 218ºC (425ºF). As the oven preheats, in a medium-size mixing bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and buttermilk powder. In another medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, sourdough starter, 237 ml (1 cup) water, honey, and vegetable oil.
2. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Mix the batter with a spoon or spatula; don’t overmix.
3. Once the oven is preheated, add the butter to the hot cast-iron skillet until the butter melts and starts to brown, 1-2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven, swirl the butter in the pan, and pour in all of the sourdough cornbread batter.
4. Bake the cornbread for 18-20 minutes. The cornbread is done when the top is golden brown, the edges are slightly crispy, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes.
Diane Zatz
Diane Zatz is a graphic designer, educator, and editor at The Cook’s Cook. Diane and her husband divide their time between Philadelphia and their family farm in Lancaster County, Pa. They enjoy their off-screen time planting seeds and pulling weeds.
Read more from Diane Zatz
