Cast-Iron Skillet Cornbread Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook cornbread in a cast iron skillet without it sticking? ›

How do you keep foods from sticking to a cast-iron pan? Lightly grease it with whatever fat you use in your cornbread (butter, lard, bacon fat etc…) then place 2 TB flour in the pan, and gently shake and turn the pan to coat all the sides and bottom with the flour. shake out the access into the trash.

Cast iron works best because it gets hot and stays hot, helping your cornbread to cook evenly and giving it that tasty crispy, golden-brown crust you know and love.

The most common reason food sticks to cast iron is because the pan is simply too hot. Because cast iron retains heat much better than other types of cookware, you generally don't need to use as high of a heat setting as you normally would with stainless steel or aluminum cookware.

Cast Iron Skillets

This is the traditional choice for skillet cornbread, cornbread that is usually rich in eggs. The pan should be well-seasoned and coated with butter or other fat. A cast-iron skillet will give you a crusty, crunchy cornbread. Dutch ovens make great cornbread.

And now, onto the thing I was most skeptical about: the seasoning spray. To be perfectly clear — this is a spray can of pure canola oil. Do not try to use nonstick sprays like Pam to season your cast iron skillet, as they contain other ingredients that aren't good for your pan.

Prior to cooking, add about a teaspoon of oil to your skillet and heat it gradually on the stovetop or in the oven to help reduce sticking. After cooking, allow the cookware to cool, then use a pan scraper to remove stuck-on food, scrub with a nylon brush or nonscratch pad, hand dry, and add a generous layer of oil.

You can either place your oiled cast iron cookware upside down on a baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350°F (177°C) for an hour, or heat it over medium-high heat on the stove until it starts to smoke. This will cause the oil to polymerize and form a hard, black coating on the iron.

Add shredded cheese.

Melty, gooey cheese will hold your cornbread together and give it a fantastic flavor.

Southern cornbread has traditionally been made with little or no sugar and smaller amounts of flour (or no flour), with northern cornbread being sweeter and more cake-like. Southern cornbread traditionally used white cornmeal and buttermilk. Other ingredients such as pork rinds are sometimes used.

A cast iron skillet is your best choice for cornbread

The benefit of using cast iron is that it retains heat really well, helping to make the batter nice and crispy around the edges. Cast iron can also withstand abrupt temperature changes better than glass.

Which cornmeal is best for cornbread? ›

As for the best cornmeal for cornbread, either fine- or medium-grind cornmeal is a great choice. Medium-grind cornmeal will bring slightly more texture and grittiness to the batter, which you may or may not want (it's up to you!). You can use fine or medium cornmeal in these extra corny muffins.

You can either place your oiled cast iron cookware upside down on a baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350°F (177°C) for an hour, or heat it over medium-high heat on the stove until it starts to smoke. This will cause the oil to polymerize and form a hard, black coating on the iron.

How do you keep bread from sticking to cast iron? Greasing the product beforehand makes it easier to remove the finished bread.

Preheat in the oven or on the stovetop

Then, once the oven is preheated, take the warm skillet out and add a little butter or oil to the bottom of the pan before pouring in your batter.