Dixie Cornbread

Christy over at Southern Plate is my go to Southern recipe site. She’s from Alabama and her momma is in Tennessee so they prepare and eat recipes the same way we do from my small town back home. Cornmeal is an essential staple in the Southern Kitchen and is a product that is rare for me to find here in Saudi. After three years of not having any I was able to get my hands on a few packets. In the South we use white cornmeal and the only one I have been able to find here was yellow cornmeal so I have had to make it work.

When I tried Christies cornbread recipe with the yellow mix it worked perfectly and was in fact the best cornbread I have ever had. I will never stray from this recipe. Although the original recipe does not have any brown sugar in it I have found that it really brings the flavors out and since it’s a small amount it does not make the bread sweet at all.

1-1/2 cups cornmeal (I used yellow)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons course brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk (I used laban)
1 egg
3 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening

1. Preheat oven to 450 F.

2. In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, add shortening and preheat in the oven.

3. Sift together dry ingredients; add buttermilk, and egg mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened.

4. Pour into the greased, hot skillet and stir.  Bake in preheated hot oven for 20 minutes. Serve warm with butter.