Edith Key Haines’ Skillet Corn Bread Recipe or Biggles botches another batch of cornbread


What the HELL am I doing wrong? While I truly believe it’s the recipe’s fault this time (shift the blame), why does my cornbread suck so badly? I’m talking so bad it separates and the center of the bread looks and feels like a gooey, yellow custard.
Check out the recipe though, it is kind of interesting.


Edith Key Haine’s cookbook hails from 1937 and was among the load of books I received last week. Usually one of the first things I look for in an old American cookbook are cornbread recipes. It’s kinda neat to see how everyone does it differently. Here’s the ingredients and then read the instructions. They a bit different than what you’re probably used to seeing.
3/4 cupful of white or yellow corn meal
1/4 cupful of unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teasspoonful of soda
1 tablespoonful of sugar
3/4 teaspoonful of salt
1 cupful of milk
1/2 cupful sour milk (or buttermilk)
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon of butter
8 inch heavy skillet (cast iron, foo)

Sift all the dry ingredients together twice. Add one-half cupful of the sweet milk and the sour milk, mixing thoroughly. Add the egg. Melt the butter in the skillet and turn in the mixture (no fat in the batter itself, eek). Pour the remaining sweet milk over the top but to not mix it in (never done it that way before). Bake in hot oven (425 degrees F) for about twenty-five minutes, or until lightly puffed and browned. Remove, brush with melted butter, and return to the oven for a minute to glaze. Cut in wedges and serve at once.


Removing this “bread” from the pan was like removing a US Army Airborne Special Forces beret while still in use from said soldier. Once out it was time to taste a bit. It was nasty, like uncooked and yet still raw ingredients. Toss.
So, what did Biggles do? That’s right, I did it again! Moved the rack in the oven up a few notches and mixed the batter less. Same result, toss.

(click on image to see larger version)

Well, after 2 attempts and rechecking the method and amount of each ingredients, I think ol’ Edith didn’t try this one out or I am truly cursed. Probably a lot of both. This isn’t the only recipe wherein I’ve had the center turn to a creamy, yellow pudding. Shit, maybe I should bypass this whole cornbread fantasy I have and jump right to corn pudding. It’d probably turn out great.
Wish me luck,
Biggles
Update November 23, 2006:
Semi followed Greg’s recipe using Meathead’s philosophy (no cookie ingredients, use bacon fat)
2 cups stone ground cornmeal (yellow), medium grind
1.5 cups buttermilk
1 egg
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup melted bacon drippins
375 oven for 33 minutes in really old, yet thin walled cast iron skillet

Holy crap! Juicy good and just the way it’s supposed to be. My only complaint is the grind was too coarse. I like crunchy corn bits, but these bits were puffy big. In any case, I actually got an edible cornbread for the first time in several years. I know that sounds crazy, but I didn’t want Yankee bread. Ya know?
xo

22 thoughts on “Edith Key Haines’ Skillet Corn Bread Recipe or Biggles botches another batch of cornbread

  1. Biggles–If you’re interested, I know of a wonderful cornbread recipe that an old Missourian gave me years ago. It is from a book called, “Cy Littlebee’s Guide to Cooking Fish & Game.” It was put out by the Missouri Dept. of Conservation, quite some time ago. It is far more than just a cookbook though; full of snippets of wisdom and humor. In that regard, it reminds one very much of Meathenge. Old Cy will have you cooking racoon, muskrat, skunk, groundhog, venison, (and some mighty fine corn bread) in short order. And laughing, too. Just Google-up “Cy Littlebee,” and away you go. The corn bread recipe is a very basic one, yet tried and true. If you have access to freshly ground cornmeal, it makes all the difference. By the way, I hope you and the Mrs., Chile, Cookie, Meathead, and the rest, have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving. Your admirer, B.C.

  2. well, you’ve given me no hope. i don’t (nor does anyone i know) own an oven here in beautiful madrid, and i’m hankering for some cornbread and greens. i’ve been toying with the idea of skillet bread, but figured i’d botch it worse than you. i’ll give this recipe a try sometime this winter, and let you know how i fare.

  3. Not sure I can help ya out with the cornbread pudding part, but is the oven temp too high? Maybe cooking it longer at a lower temp? Hell m’hyne, just an idea. But on a slightly different note, we did a taste test a few weeks ago with cornbread. A wise man once told me to only pour cornbread batter into a HOT castiron skillet with a good, thick layer of melted butter in the pan. And I don’t mean a little layer, I mean a small pool of butter. I’ve been cooking cornbread like that for a long time now, but I recently remembered that anything that tastes good cooked in a pool of butter probably tastes BETTER cooked in a pool of bacon fat. So, the family and I settle in for a blind taste test…two batches of cornbread, one cooked in a pool of butter, the other cooked in a pool of bacon fat. Please don’t think less of me, but I felt that the butter-cooked bread had more scrumptiousness to it. The family disagreed. Anyway, best of luck with the cornbread!

  4. Me? I’m the Cookie? Eeee! Neat. Thanks. And backatcha.
    Hey, Mr. Henge: I think when a recipe has you pour milk on top and not stir, it’s intended to create that custardy center. So that was not a mistake. Just not what you wanted.
    I wish I had a recipe for what you’re looking for. I happen to like the skillet-pudding-mess thing.

  5. Hey Princess,
    Madrid? No ovens? You need to find another crowd to get your tummy full.
    I hope you’re doing well and miss seeing you about town.
    xo

  6. Well, see, the problem is that I don’t know which kind of cornbread you hanker after. Where I grew up we used only white cornmeal (fresh as possible, stone ground), absolutely no sugar, and the batter was poured into an iron skillet pre-heated in the oven with enough l-a-r-d melted in the bottom so that the batter sizzled when you poured it in. Ah, and no sweet milk ever, just buttermilk…..Then there was hot water cornbread which was just about what it says: boiling water stirred into really good cornmeal, thick batter that you shape with your hands into flat cakes or slightly oval ones (pones) and cook on a hot iron skillet. Lard again, though bacon fat is good when you’re having it with certain foods like blackeyed peas….Hope you keep trying till you find something that pleases you.

  7. Dude,
    Cornbread! I’m an eater of it, not a baker of it, so anything that I can offer is only speculation.
    I’m taking the analytical approach.
    The 1937 lady’s recipe might be okay on its own merit. Did she describe the exact kind of oven she was using? And, she might have subtracted a small element in the prep and baking process that she thought wasn’t necessary, when in fact it makes all the difference in the world.
    The 1st grade class today invited me to their “Stone Soup” party and one of the dishes was — YES — you guessed it — CORNBREAD!!!
    This particular cornbread was baked by an Hispanic PTA lady who knows what she is about. Had I been able to read your “plea” for help on cornbread, before leaving school today, I would have begged, borrowed and negotiated for this cornbread recipe and baking instructs!
    Have no feeeeeeaaaaaarrrrrrr! I will obtain for you an authentic Hispanic cornbread recipe with all details!
    Hang tight!
    BB

  8. Here’s my skillet cornbread recipe…I can’t say it was handed down to me by my Arkansas grandma (I actually got it out of a newspaper several years back), but it’s never failed me. It makes a sweeter, moist, Northern-style cornbread–Southern cornbread is bone-dry and salty rather than sweet, and despite being an Ozark girl, I prefer the Northern style.
    1 Cup cornmeal
    1 Cup flour
    1 Tablespoon sugar
    2 teaspoons baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    dash salt
    1 egg
    1 Cup buttermilk
    1/2 Cup frozen corn
    1 Cup grated cheddar
    4 Tablespoons butter, melted
    Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease skillet, if necessary. Combine dry ingreadients in large bowl. In separate small bowl, beat egg and buttermilk. Stir into dry ingredients. Add corn and 2/3 cup of the cheese. Gently stir in melted butter. Pour batter into skillet and top with remaining cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes.

  9. For what it’s worth,here is my cornbread recipe:
    2 Cups self rising white cornmeal
    1 1/4 cup Buttermilk
    1/4 cup vegetable oil (or lard)
    1 egg
    teaspoon of sugar optional
    Mix it all up and pour into a heated cast iron pan that has been generously rubbed down with oil (or lard), bake at 425 degrees 12 to 18 minutes (untill golden brown).
    Being a Southerner I also like to mash up some cornbread and pour cold fresh buttermilk over it and cut up an onion.
    This is how my grandmother made cornbread (except she did not have the self rising type of meal) and I still have her cast iron skillett that originally belonged to her mother. One of my prized family heirlooms. The only vessel to make cornbread in (and fried chicken). She taught me Hearth cooking and wood stove cooking but was reluctant to let me use the electric stove because she considered electricity more dangerous than the open fire! This cornbread recipe always turns out light and tasty.

  10. MH,
    Recall that rural electrification did not happen until the very late 1930s. By 1939, only 25% of rural homes had electricity. So, it is very likely that Ms. Haines is cooking in a wood fired oven. In that case 425 may be at the low end of “hot” (Ray Bradury reminds me that paper burns at 451 degrees).
    EE

  11. Hey Bubba,
    Yeah, A friend emailed me and offered that maybe the temp was too high or for not enough time. Prolly so. But it seems most cornbread recipes have that hot oven going on. I’ll have to keep trying.
    Biggles

  12. Greg,
    Hooyah, that’s pretty much how Meathead does it. All juicy from bacon drippins.
    Hey Eats,
    Yeah, I dunno. Usually with the cookbooks that deal with wood or coal fired cookbooks will have a chapter or two of fire/coal tending. She doesn’t mention anything about it.
    It does say she worked 3 years on this book, so it probably worked for her.
    Biggles

  13. From a displaced Southerner who was raised on beans with onions, potatoes and cornbread.
    It all depends on what type of bread you are looking for. And Cornbread is NOT cornbread unless it is cooked in cast iron, of course youall knew that.
    I have two vintage cast iron skillets of different sizes for cornbread. and ONLY cornbread. They are to never ever again to be washed, just wiped out with a towel and put back in the cabinet.
    An aside, if you stack your iron skillets inside each other, keep a washcloth or or something similar inside them. This keeps the bottom of the pan from scratching the one beneath it and protects the seasoning surface of the pan.
    The above post is correct the oil in the skillet needs to be HOT before the batter is poured into it. If it doesn’t bubble it isn’t hot enough. Olive oil, butter, lard, bacon fat……your choice, of course all impart their own different flavors. About an 1/8″ deep pool in the pan.
    Fresh coarsly ground cornmeal is a must for the best bread. But if not available keep yours sealed tightly in the fridge, Cornmeal breaks down quickly and refrigeration will definately slow the process. If your container is not sealed the fridge will dry out the meal to nearly dust.
    The recipe you have is for a spoonbread type center just like you got. Like a cake filled with pudding.
    Experiment!! All of my cast iron is either old and very old flea market finds. Some are 1/4″ thick and some are thin enough to nearly see through. You can make a thin bread that is nice and crusty brown on top and bottom. Or a thicker more of a loaf type bread.
    A nice crusty Mexican style cornbread and a tall glass of your favorite drink. OK now I am hungry.
    Tony

  14. Hey Tony,
    Alright man, I’m back at it. Got me some fancy stone ground (coarse) cornmeal. Got me some bacon drippin’s and am going to attempt the southern style recipe in the comments above there.
    I’m on it.
    Biggles

  15. I agree with Tony: Edith’s recipe sounds more like a spoonbread. The ratio of liquids to dry ingredients was way off for cornbread.
    I also agree that the best cornbread is baked in cast iron – it gives it a great ‘butt’ :-). My momma always put a good spoonful of bacon grease in the pan and put it in the oven to get hot. Then, just at the end of mixing her cornbread, would take it out and pour about 2 tablespoons of the hot bacon grease from the pan into the cornbread batter. Then the batter gets poured into the hot pan – should puff and sizz around the edges when it goes in.
    And I disagree with whoever said southern cornbread was dry and salty. Momma’s cornbread is moist and yummy. I always saved my last piece to slather with butter and honey – my papaw used ‘lasses on his. Yum!
    I agree that fresh stoneground cornmeal is best; I ususally use a blend of stoneground and regular meal to get a kindof medium coarse meal.
    Mom’s recipe:
    2 cups white cornmeal
    2 cups buttermilk
    2 eggs
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt
    2 tablespoons oil
    suemac

  16. Okay — I know your cornbread stories are months old now but they are new to me!
    I have scourged the internet and read your advice. I’m at a friends and I’m reading his pantry. So — I’ve learned if you sprinkle corn meal in the pan before the batter it’s crisper (good by me) you can subsitute 1 tbsp mayo for an egg (also good – he’s outa eggs). I have traversed and lived up and down the mason-dixon line — what north of baltimore they call corn bread I call “corn cake” or “corn muffins” so — no suger or sweets in mine — he’s outta milk — and you have resicpes that allow you to switch sourcream for milk…. So yeah, you might think it sounds switchy, I think it might be a good “what the young modernist has in their fridge” cornbread. Just gonna work on the scale of the ingredients and give it a few trys! I’ll let you know!

  17. A couple of things are evident that has to be thought about.
    When you pour batter into a pan the thickness ( I mean the depth
    of the batter and the height of the cooked cornbread )
    is important to the cook time and the resulting texture of
    the inside. Also some batter is more liquid than others and the
    more moisture there is the more cooking that is required to
    convert the inside to bread instead of a wet spoon bread/pudding
    mass. If ever anyone has insides of cornbread that is offensive,
    just slice the cornbread into pieces and split the cornbread down
    the center and place on cookie sheets and broil so that the
    soft moist center can cook and brown.
    Also note that a thick dense and wet center may be a result of
    not enough baking powder or not enough reaction between the
    baking soda and the acid component that creates the bubbles
    and causes to rise. If for instance regular milk were used
    instead of butter milk, there would be no acid to react
    with the baking soda and thusly no rise of the batter and
    no bubbles formed.