When it comes to bread, Dr. Crandall’s “Fix It” plan specifies only whole grain breads that do not contain sugar. I was surprised to learn how difficult it was to find bread without sugar in the ingredients list. Over time we found a number of products, including Ezekial Breads and Mestemacher Breads, but by far Bill’s favorite is this cornbread I bake nearly every week. I discovered the recipe on the cookinglight.com community forum, which has been a great place to find and share recipes. It came from the book “The Cornbread Gospels” by Crescent Dragonwagon, which has a 5 star rating on Amazon.
It’s called “Sylvia’s Ozark Cornbread” and it’s so easy to make. Six simple, healthy ingredients, plus a tablespoon of butter** for the pan, and it’s on the table in 27 minutes, give or take a few depending on your oven. It’s especially yummy with beans and soups, which have become mainstays on our table. It’s important to note this is not a sweet, cake-y cornbread like so many of us have grown accustomed to! But it is chewy and delicious.
SYLVIA’S OZARK CORNBREAD
“The Cornbread Gospels” by Crescent Dragonwagon
(Makes 8 wedges)*
Ingredients
Veg. oil cooking spray (I do not use)
1 Tablespoon butter
2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal (I use Bob’s Red Mill Medium Grind)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk (I use organic, low-fat)
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon mild vegetable oil (I use expeller pressed, virgin coconut oil)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Spray a cast iron skillet with oil, add the butter and put in the oven to heat. Meanwhile, stir together the cornmeal, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, beat the buttermilk with the eggs and oil.
- Combine the two mixtures. As always, be careful not to over-beat, stirring until wet and dry are just combined. (The batter will be thin–don’t worry!)
- Scrape the batter into the skillet and bake the cornbread until it is golden brown and crust at the edges, 23 to 27 minutes. Serve hot, in wedges.
*I use a square baking dish which yields 9 servings.
**The tablespoon of butter that is melted in the pan is important in my opinion. It lends a richness and aroma, and imparts a buttery/salty flavor to every bite. And it does this with only 1 tablespoon for the entire pan. That’s a very small amount of butter per serving. This was the ONLY exception we made in following the “Fix It” diet, which does not allow any animal fat.
Made this again today for two family members who need gluten free cornbread. Really good with our black eyed peas. Happy 2014.
A healthy start to the New Year! Happy 2014 to you and Bruce!
Julie I’m making this today for the 2nd time, we loved it so much 🙂 Happy New Year to you and Bill !!
You’re right Gail that cornbread is a classic! I make a batch at least twice a month. Happy New Year to you guys too!!
Really like the corn meal texture in this. It’s not so half-cake tasting. My Grandmother Bug made her corn bread like this-simple, very few ingredients & no flour.