Oh pshaw, on Mon 16 Oct 2006 06:20:49a, Andy meant to say...

> Wayne Boatwright said...
>
>> Oh pshaw, on Mon 16 Oct 2006 05:47:55a, Andy meant to say...
>>
>>> The Cook said...
>>>
>>>> On 16 Oct 2006 04:02:16 +0200, Wayne Boatwright
>>>> <wayneboatwright_at_gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>Oh pshaw, on Sun 15 Oct 2006 03:49:45p, The Cook meant to say...
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 22:29:14 GMT, (TammyM) wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Fixin' to make some for dinner. Along with the black bean soup as
>>>>>>>it's turned out to be a cool enough day for such. So what's your
>>>>>>>special cornbread recipe?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>TammyM
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Here is mine.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> * Exported from MasterCook *
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Corn Bread
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Recipe By :Betty Crocker Cook Book
>>>>>> Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
>>>>>> Categories : Breads
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
>>>>>> -------- ------------ --------------------------------
>>>>>> 2 eggs
>>>>>> 2 cups buttermilk
>>>>>> 1 teaspoon baking soda
>>>>>> 2 cups corn meal
>>>>>> 1 teaspoon salt
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Heat oven to 450° F. Generously grease 12 muffin cups or corn
>>>>>> stick pans or a square pan 9X9X1 3/4". Heat in oven while mixing
>>>>>> batter.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Beat eggs. Beat in other ingredients with a rotary beater just
>>>>>> until smooth.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Bake 10 to 15 minutes for corn sticks or muffins; 20 to 25 minutes
>>>>>> for corn bread.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Copyright: Betty Crocker Cookbook 1960
>>>>>
>>>>>Exactly the ingredients and proportions I use, except that I bake it
>>>>>in a preheated sizzling hot black iron skillet.
>>>>>
>>>>>I also use stone-ground cornmeal.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I have been using a combination of a white corn meal and a yellow
>>>> coarse ground meal (polenta type.) I also use a preheated cast iron
>>>> skillet with a little bacon grease melted in it an poured into the
>>>> mix.
>>>>
>>>> The white corn meal comes from an old mill about 10 miles from me.
>>>> I managed to get the meal before they made it self rising.
>>>
>>>
>>> Sadly, I've rarely ventured beyond Jiffy cornbread mix. Then I end up
>>> making popovers instead. My scratch cornbread almost always turns out
>>> gritty and crumbles too easily. Maybe an oven temp issue.
>>
>> Good southern style cornbread *is* gritty, but it should also be moist
>> and not too crumbly. It *must* be a very hot oven of 425-450*, and
>> the skillet *must* be preheated to the smoking point of the fat put in
>> it. You may also not be using enough fat. For the proportions of the
>> batter above, I use about 1/3 cup of shortening or bacon fat, melted
>> in the skillet while it's preheating, then most of it stirred
>> vigorously into the batter before pouring the batter into the pan.
>> Quick work of it is important. Also, the typical supermarket cornmeal
>> (like Quaker), is much too fine. It produces a dry powdery texture.
>> Using coarse stone-ground meal and buttermilk will produce a cornbread
>> that's steaming and moist.
>
>
> Wayne,
>
> Thanks for the pointers. I never tried a cast iron skillet, only a pyrex
> baking dish.
>
> I'll certainly have another go AND be sure to measure the oven temp with
> a digital probe thermometer.
>
> If it turns out better (which it will, I'll certainly make it more
> often.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Andy
>

You're most welcome, sir!

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

We don't know who discovered water, but we're
pretty sure it wasn't a fish.