Buttermilk cornbread has a few simple ingredients and is done in less than 30 minutes. Classic southern style - no sugar! And, you can't beat a warm square of this covered in melted butter with honey dripping down the sides!
Stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
In another bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk until combined, then mix in the melted butter and bacon drippings.
Quickly stir the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients.
Spoon the batter into a greased 9x9-inch square baking dish, smoothing the top.
Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
To make cornbread in a cast iron pan
Preheat the oven to 425° with a 9-inch cast iron skillet in it.
Mix the cornbread batter as directed above.
Carefully remove the skillet from the oven (use pot holders it will be hot!) and add a tablespoon or two of butter or bacon grease.
Move the butter quickly around the skillet with a spatula to coat the entire surface.
Spoon the batter into the prepared skillet and bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until the interior is 200° on an instant read thermometer.
Cool for at least 10 minutes and serve right from the pan.
Notes
Expert Tip: Once you add the wet ingredients to the dry finish up quickly. When baking soda gets wet it begins to "work" and if you wait too long to bake the batter it won't rise well.
Mix cornbread by hand - there's no need for a mixer and you won't overwork the batter and make it tough.
If you're using baking powder and sweet milk you can let the batter rest for 5 minutes or so before baking.
Cornmeal should be stored in the freezer if you don't go through a lot of it quickly. It gets rancid and tastes weird plus it gets bugs after too long in the pantry.
Cornbread is one of those things that is best the day it's made. Eat it or store it in the freezer. Leftovers can be used for dressings and other dishes.