Corn bread baked in a searing cast iron skillet, golden crust outside and soft crumb within, straight from the American South.
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Photo: Douglas P Perkins, CC BY 3.0
That searing skillet is what makes the crust. Cold batter hitting cast iron at 220°C sets the base before the crumb has time to rise, which is where the crisp edge comes from.
An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.
It supplies the acidity that sets off the bicarbonate and lifts the batter. Failing that, stir a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar into 350 ml of milk and leave it ten minutes. Plain milk alone gives a dense bread, since the bicarbonate has nothing to react with.
This is the Southern style, made with cornmeal alone, barely sweet, with a close, slightly sandy crumb. Northern-style recipes add flour and sugar and land much closer to cake. It is also what makes this version naturally gluten free.
A preheated metal tin can work, but cast iron stores far more heat and gives it back all at once, which is what builds the crust. Avoid glass and ceramic, which heat too slowly and leave the base pale.
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