Lots of specificity here, but that's what defines "fine tuning" when it comes to recipes, right?
If you like cornbread Southern Style---soft and sweet---this isn't for you. If you like it crusty, texture-y, and corny-flavorful, give it a go.
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DRY INGREDIENTS:
In a mixing bowl, put the following and mix thoroughly
--- 3/4 cup AP flour
--- 2.5 tsp baking powder
--- 1.5 TB white sugar
--- .75 to 1.0 tsp fine sea salt (less and it'll be flat, more will be too salty... I shoot for 7/8 tsp --- what the old cookbooks call a "scant" teaspoon)
--- 1.25 cups cornmeal --- divided as 1/3 cup "grocery store" type (Aunt Jemimah, Quaker, etc) and the remainder (2/3 cup + 1/4 cup) Bob's Red Mill stone ground medium
--- 1 tsp Bob's Red Mill coarse cornmeal (some is essential for that special texture, but too much is like eating sand. And it doesn't TAKE much. Experiment with caution)
WET INGREDIENTS:
In another, smaller mixing bowl, blend the following with a whisk
--- 2.5 TB melted butter
--- 1 egg
--- 2 TB chopped pickled Jalapeno slices (chop into cubes about 3/16" on a side... finer just adds overall heat, and more coarse makes the "sparks" too spread out when eating)
--- 1 cup whole milk + 2/3 of a quarter cup (sounds fussy, but it doesn't take much either way for the batter's consistency to be wrong)
NOTE: put the melted butter into the milk first to avoid cooking the egg
METHOD:
--- pre-heat oven to 425
--- when hot, put a dry 10" cast iron skillet on a middle rack and close the door
--- After 10 minutes exactly, remove and set the pan on the stove top, close the oven door, and "paint" the inside of the pan with a stick of butter until well coated
--- Pour the wet bowl into the dry bowl and whisk ONLY 5-6 TURNS, then, with a rubber spatula, scrape-scoop-flip the remaining still-dry ingredients on the bottom and along the sides of the bowl (what escaped the whisk) back into the center of the bowl using a quick up-and-over motion, and give the entire bowl 1 or 2 more cranks with the spatula to assure everything's wet. DO NOT OVERMIX. If it doesn't look uniformly mixed that's OK... wet is all that counts, uniform distribution doesn't matter.
--- Immediately pour & scrape the "batter lava" into the hot skillet, and put it back in the oven
--- Rotate the pan 180-degrees after twenty minutes, then remove after ten more (30 minutes total baking time)
--- No need to set or rest. Can be eaten immediately. Just cut into wedges, split the wedges horizontally (separate top and bottom), and slather with butter
--- Consume with great happiness, enjoying the physical proof that some things can still be made as good as they ever were, 21st century be damned.
NOTE --- the ten minute heat-soak time will vary some according to room temp, oven temp variation, the thickness of your pan, etc. Also, some people prefer a heavier or lighter crust. Experimention is the only way to get a consistent bullseye.
If you like cornbread Southern Style---soft and sweet---this isn't for you. If you like it crusty, texture-y, and corny-flavorful, give it a go.
------------------------------------------
DRY INGREDIENTS:
In a mixing bowl, put the following and mix thoroughly
--- 3/4 cup AP flour
--- 2.5 tsp baking powder
--- 1.5 TB white sugar
--- .75 to 1.0 tsp fine sea salt (less and it'll be flat, more will be too salty... I shoot for 7/8 tsp --- what the old cookbooks call a "scant" teaspoon)
--- 1.25 cups cornmeal --- divided as 1/3 cup "grocery store" type (Aunt Jemimah, Quaker, etc) and the remainder (2/3 cup + 1/4 cup) Bob's Red Mill stone ground medium
--- 1 tsp Bob's Red Mill coarse cornmeal (some is essential for that special texture, but too much is like eating sand. And it doesn't TAKE much. Experiment with caution)
WET INGREDIENTS:
In another, smaller mixing bowl, blend the following with a whisk
--- 2.5 TB melted butter
--- 1 egg
--- 2 TB chopped pickled Jalapeno slices (chop into cubes about 3/16" on a side... finer just adds overall heat, and more coarse makes the "sparks" too spread out when eating)
--- 1 cup whole milk + 2/3 of a quarter cup (sounds fussy, but it doesn't take much either way for the batter's consistency to be wrong)
NOTE: put the melted butter into the milk first to avoid cooking the egg
METHOD:
--- pre-heat oven to 425
--- when hot, put a dry 10" cast iron skillet on a middle rack and close the door
--- After 10 minutes exactly, remove and set the pan on the stove top, close the oven door, and "paint" the inside of the pan with a stick of butter until well coated
--- Pour the wet bowl into the dry bowl and whisk ONLY 5-6 TURNS, then, with a rubber spatula, scrape-scoop-flip the remaining still-dry ingredients on the bottom and along the sides of the bowl (what escaped the whisk) back into the center of the bowl using a quick up-and-over motion, and give the entire bowl 1 or 2 more cranks with the spatula to assure everything's wet. DO NOT OVERMIX. If it doesn't look uniformly mixed that's OK... wet is all that counts, uniform distribution doesn't matter.
--- Immediately pour & scrape the "batter lava" into the hot skillet, and put it back in the oven
--- Rotate the pan 180-degrees after twenty minutes, then remove after ten more (30 minutes total baking time)
--- No need to set or rest. Can be eaten immediately. Just cut into wedges, split the wedges horizontally (separate top and bottom), and slather with butter
--- Consume with great happiness, enjoying the physical proof that some things can still be made as good as they ever were, 21st century be damned.
NOTE --- the ten minute heat-soak time will vary some according to room temp, oven temp variation, the thickness of your pan, etc. Also, some people prefer a heavier or lighter crust. Experimention is the only way to get a consistent bullseye.
