I’m spoiled and I admit it…..spoiled to having grown up on a farm and knowing the true goodness in home grown, home ground cornmeal. Cornbread made from cornmeal on the farm is my absolute favorite.   I can make a meal on cornbread and milk.  My Daddy still grinds cornmeal with his Grist Mill (made between 1914-1924) like my ancestors did and sells it at the local markets.

If I have to buy cornmeal, Martha White’s Self Rising is my favorite but I prefer Dad’s any day!  Preheat the oven to 350°.  While the oven is heating, I place my cornbread pan with a little bit of oil in the oven.  This “cornbread” pan is a cast iron pan that I use for nothing other than cornbread.

Getting that pan hot plays a key in the outside of the cornbread having that crunch to it.  Your cornmeal mixture will literally sizzle when you pour it in the pan.

• 1 1/2 cup Cornmeal
• 2 T Self Rising Flour
• 1 t Baking Powder
• 1/2 t Salt
• 3 T Oil
• 1 cup Milk  (if you keep buttermilk on hand, use 1/2 c milk, 1/2 c buttermilk)

Mix together all the ingredients.  If you ask my father how to make it the right consistency he will tell you that you add the milk a little at a time and mix it until it “plops”.  His original recipe didn’t have a measurement for milk.

See how it sizzle a little bit around the edges. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.

Enjoy!