Cornbread

I’m a cornbread snob. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the eight years I spent in southern Indiana, right on the Kentucky border, in a place that considered itself part of the South despite being above the Mason-Dixon line. Whatever the reason, I relate to cornbread the way Goldilocks relates to porridge. It needs to be not too dense but not too crumbly, not too savory but not too sweet, not too dry but not too moist. I also needed the recipe to be not too complicated, mostly due to tradition (Indians and pioneers certainly didn’t have electric mixers). This one satisfies all of my needs, including being able to use it either in my cornbread stick pan or my square baking pan. Perfection.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup shortening (melted)
1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8×8 pan or corn stick pan.

Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, & salt.

Mix together milk, shortening, and egg.

Add wet to dry. Mix only until well-combined. Don’t over stir; you want it lumpy.

Bake 25-30 minutes. Let cool before cutting.