Great-Grandmother Steinbecks Johnnycake (Cornbread)

This recipe is out of my great-grandmother Bertha Iva Steinbeck’s recipe box. She really was John Steinbeck’s aunt. She lived in Hollister, California, and died in the ’30s. I’ve been making this since I was about 5 years old when my grandmother, Agnes Steinbeck Bowman decided I was old enough to learn to cook. It was actually the second thing I learned to cook…she wanted to see how I handled scrambled eggs before she introduced me to something that demanded some technique! I’ve never tasted better cornbread in my 47 years.

Step: 1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch glass baking dish.

Step: 2

Sift the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, corn oil and egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix just until blended. Pour into the prepared pan, and shake gently to level it out.

Step: 3

Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown. Serve hot. Just with butter will do, it is plenty sweet enough!

Per Serving: 383 calories; protein 8.1g; carbohydrates 52g; fat 16.4g; cholesterol 49mg; sodium 1052.7mg.

The best flavour of the flour could make a real deal to your bread. Different brands do vary. Extra-strong or Canadian flours, which are naturally higher in gluten, may give you a better rise than standard dough flours – especially if you’re make wholemeal bread , which doesn’t always rise as well as clear bread.

To make this in a breadmaker , add all the ingredients to your breadmaker and follow the makers instructions.

A dough’s first rising can be done in the fridge 24 hours . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great limit , as you can work it yesterday , then clear it off the next day.