flipButtermilk Cornbread in a Cast-Iron Skillet
Buttermilk Cornbread in a Cast-Iron Skillet
Why this dish? Married to country singer Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman shares a family life in Nashville, Tennessee, heart of American South music and cuisine. The golden cornbread, hot from the cast-iron skillet, is the comfort bread of large Southern tables.
A moist, slightly sweet cornbread, golden with butter in a cast-iron skillet, crispy on the edges, to break warm around the table.
In Nashville, cornbread is home. You make it in a cast-iron skillet that you're never really allowed to wash — you heat it with a little butter until it sizzles, and that's what gives that crispy edge. Keith loves it when it's still burning hot, broken by hand in the middle of songs and the girls' laughter. Coming from the sweet clouds of Sydney, I've learned to love this golden bread of the South: it tastes of a family gathered together, and that is worth all the red carpets.
- •Cornmeal — two cups (base)
- •Buttermilk — as needed (moisture and acidity)
- •Lard or butter — a good spoonful (skillet fat)
- •Egg — one (binder)
Buttermilk Cornbread in a Cast-Iron Skillet
A moist, slightly sweet cornbread, golden with butter in a cast-iron skillet, crispy on the edges, to break warm around the table.
Why this dish? Married to country singer Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman shares a family life in Nashville, Tennessee, heart of American South music and cuisine. The golden cornbread, hot from the cast-iron skillet, is the comfort bread of large Southern tables.
In Nashville, cornbread is home. You make it in a cast-iron skillet that you're never really allowed to wash — you heat it with a little butter until it sizzles, and that's what gives that crispy edge. Keith loves it when it's still burning hot, broken by hand in the middle of songs and the girls' laughter. Coming from the sweet clouds of Sydney, I've learned to love this golden bread of the South: it tastes of a family gathered together, and that is worth all the red carpets.
Ingredients (period version)
- Cornmeal — two cups (base)
- Buttermilk — as needed (moisture and acidity)
- Lard or butter — a good spoonful (skillet fat)
- Egg — one (binder)
Ingredients
- Cornmeal (fine polenta) — 200 g (typical base)
- Wheat flour — 120 g (structure)
- Buttermilk (or milk + lemon juice) — 300 ml (moisture and slight acidity)
- Eggs — 2 (binder)
- Melted butter — 60 g (richness)
- Sugar — 2 tbsp (slight sweetness)
- Baking powder — 1 tbsp (leavening)
- Salt — 1 tsp (seasoning)
Method
- Preheat oven to 200 °C with the cast-iron skillet and a knob of butter inside.
- Mix dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt).
- Whisk eggs with buttermilk and melted butter, then fold into dry ingredients without overmixing.
- Pour batter into the hot skillet (it should sizzle).
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and a knife comes out clean.
- Serve hot, cut into wedges, with a pat of butter.
How it was made : Cornbread is a pillar of Southern US cuisine, heir to Native American corn cakes and African American cooking. Traditionally baked in a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet preheated in the oven, it develops a characteristic crispy crust.
The contemporary twist : Served directly in the skillet at the centre of the table, rustic and generous, like a concert finale in Nashville.
Nicole Kidman · Charactorium
