📍 West Virginia

Cornbread (Southern corn bread)

Name: Cornbread (Southern corn bread)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 2 cups cornmeal; 1 cup buttermilk; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons bacon fat or butter

· Lunch

Cornmeal bread baked in a cast-iron skillet, with a crisp crust and tender crumb, only lightly sweet.

Editorial content by WorldBites · 2026-09-11 · Contact

⏱ 35 min🍽 8 servings📊 Easy🏷 Commonly associated

Preparation: 10 min
Cooking: 25 min
Waiting and resting: 0 min

History

Cornbread is a staple of Appalachia and all of Southern cooking, an heir to Indigenous use of corn. The Southern and mountain version, like that of West Virginia, is barely sweet and is baked in a preheated cast-iron skillet with fat to achieve its signature crust; it accompanies stews, beans, and greens.

Ingredients

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Preparation

1
Preheat the oven to 220 °C and put a cast-iron skillet with the fat inside to heat.
2
Mix the cornmeal with the salt and baking soda.
3
Separately, beat the egg with the buttermilk.
4
Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ones without overmixing.
5
Pour the batter into the hot greased skillet, which should sizzle.
6
Bake about 25 minutes until golden; turn out and serve hot.