Simple Cornbread

Cornbread is a common bread all over the Us, but I think it's most popular in the southern states. There are several ways to cook cornbread, on the stove with a skillet/pan, baking,or steaming it. You'll also find several variations some with buttermilk or milk, others with oil - butter or animal fats, some with corn kernels, others with added chunks of Jalapeno peppers.

When I think cornbread I think of beans, because of the delicious cornbread and beans dish. I also think lentils, spicy lentils. You can see my recipe for spicy lentils with cornbread(and smoked ham).
Today I'm sharing my simple cornbread recipe with plain milk, (when I have buttermilk I use it instead of plain milk.)

Your ingredients:
1 cup (120 grms) yellow cornmeal (I use coarse or grainy ground)

1 cup (120 grms) white flour

3/4 teaspoon (4ml) baking soda

1 teaspoon (5ml) baking powder

1/2 teaspoon(2ml) salt
1 teaspoon (5ml) sugar or honey

small pinch of black pepper

1 egg

2 Tablespoons(30 ml) vegetable oil or butter

1 cup (250ml) whole milk or buttermilk

1. preheat your oven to 350f /180c

2. combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and in another combine your wet ingredients. Then slowly add your wet ingredients to the dry until your batter has no lumps.

3. prepare you baking dish by first coating it with butter or oil, this makes it easier to remove the bread once it's cooked.

4. pour your batter into the baking dish and put in the oven. The bread will need to bake for about 20 to 25 minutes.

The bread comes out a golden yellow color, buttery and soft, slightly fluffy but crumbly at the same time. I use a coarser ground of cornmeal, so when I grab a piece I can feel the little grains of corn between my fingers. Of course if you don't like the grittiness you can use a finer cornmeal. This bread goes great with beans, but it's also fantastic warm with a little butter and or honey...mmmmh.