Chili is one of our favorite Fall meals and something I love to make because it’s super easy to do in the crockpot. If time allows, I like to make this corn bread to go with it. Anything I make in my cast iron pans feels a bit old fashioned to me and well, I just kind of like that. 🙂
I really like corn bread that has a nice crispy crust on the bottom. A good way to get that crust is to put a couple tablespoons of butter in the cast iron pan and put it in the oven while it pre-heats. One word of caution when baking in fry pans – the handle is HOT!! Yes, I’ve learned this the hard way, multiple times. I’m so used to grabbing the handle when it’s on the stovetop that I sometimes forget it is hot when it’s in the oven, so please remember the oven mitts.
I have a really big fry pan that I make a double batch of corn bread in. This recipe is the single batch that will fit in a regular size cast iron frying pan or you could use an 8″ square cake pan or even a deep dish pie plate. I like the crust you get when using cast iron, but it will taste pretty good made in any pan. If you want to double this recipe, double everything except the baking powder and salt – leave these 2 items the same as the single recipe. The pan I use to make a double batch in is 13″ round. Love this pan, but it is heavy!
Start by melting a couple of tablespoons of butter in the pan while the oven pre-heats to 425 degrees. The butter will get nice and brown – just be careful not to burn it. If you can smell the butter or hear it sizzling, check it. 🙂
While the butter is melting in the oven, place all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk them around to mix a bit. Add the wet ingredients and whisk until mixed. Just like when making muffins, you don’t want to over-mix. Just get everything incorporated together.
Pour the batter into the hot pan. The butter will kind of push up the sides a bit, but don’t worry about it. Once baked, the butter will bake into a nice crust on the edge. Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remember the handle is hot when you’re taking it out of the oven. Let cool for a few minutes. Slice and serve.
You can see where the butter made a nice crispy edge around the top. Yum!
Old Fashioned Corn Bread
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups milk with 1 tsp. vinegar added
Instructions
- Put the butter in a pan (cast iron fry pan, or 8" square cake pan, or 9" deep dish pie plate) and place in the oven while pre-heating to 425 degrees.
- In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients and whisk together.
- Add the wet ingredients and mix to combine.
- Pour batter into the hot pan with melted butter.
- Place back in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Let cool for a few minutes. Slice and serve.