The BBA’s Cornbread

Not Northern cornbread (sweet), but not Southern cornbread (savory), either.  The next entry in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice group, which is baking it’s way through the book, is Peter Reinhart’s cornbread.  FYI, you can see what everyone is making this week at our Flickr group, on Twitter (#BBA), or check out the challenge page.  For the recipe, please see The Bread Baker’s Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread.

The recipe starts with a cornmeal/buttermilk soaker, and includes a full pound of corn and about 10 ounces of bacon.  I baked the whole thing in my cast iron skillet, and ended up with a lovely deep golden brown crust on the bottom.  The bread was surprisingly moist on the inside, and the crisp bacon topping provided a nice counterpoint to the sweetness of the corn.  Both my husband, who prefers his cornbread so sweet that we call it “corn cake,” and our dinner guest (a born and bread Southerner) each had two pieces, and they were not small pieces.

All in all, one of the better cornbread recipes that I’ve ever made, and one that I’ll keep in my repertoire.