Ready to Cook

Let’s get started. Mix your ingredients as per dry and wet. Keep them separate until you are ready to pour that batter over and into that hot cast iron skillet. The butter is NOT to be mixed into the recipe; the butter is to be added to the skillet and the cornbread will take up what butter it wants.

Step 1: Add the 4 tablespoons of butter to the 10.25” cast iron skillet.

Step 2: Preheat your 10.25” cast iron skillet with the butter in a 425°F / 215°C Oven. Keep an eye on it; don’t let the butter burn.

Step 3: Blend all the dry ingredients together. Wait before you add the wet ingredients.

Step 4: Mix the wet ingredients: 1 cup of half and half and the ½ cup of beer to a bowl and then add the two eggs. Whisk together well with a fork or whisk.

Before adding and mixing the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients, wait until just before you are ready to add the batter to the hot skillet with the melted and slightly toasted butter.

NOTE: The butter will toast and there will be some solids that have “toasted” themselves out of that butter. That’s okay. It’s all good. You just don’t want burned butter.

Step 5: Once the skillet in the oven is wicked hot and the butter is just starting to brown (toast), pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and blend well with a rubber / silicone spatula to create the batter.

Step 6: Remove the hot skillet from the oven and set on the stove top. Pour all the batter into the middle of the hot skillet and spread about as evenly as it will allow. The edges will be bubbling up from hitting that hot butter. 

Step 7: Return the hot skillet with the batter to the 425°F / 215°C oven and let it bake for about 25 minutes…give or take. I like the top of the cornbread to bake until the top is toasted a bit. 

Step 8: After 20-25 minutes and when it “looks” done, test the center with a knife like testing a cake for doneness. Some folks use a toothpick or something similar. I just use a table knife and see if anything wet still needs cooking.

Step 9: Remove the cornbread from the oven and let the cornbread cool just a bit in that skillet; the edges of the cornbread will start to pull away from the sides of the skillet just a bit as the cornbread cools. Don’t leave it too long; it’ll sweat, and you’ll lose that crunchy texture. It will not take long, about 2-4 minutes to be ready to remove.

Step 10: Cover the cornbread with a plate or a cutting board. Turn the skillet up and the plate down to flip the cornbread out and upside down. There ain’t no reason to wait for it to cool. Just start enjoying it!

Ready to Cook

Step 1: Measure out our dry ingredients directly into the bread maker basket.

I add my dry ingredients to the bread machine’s basket first. I start with the flour and then add the rest of the ingredients on top of the flour. Seems that things mix up a bit better this way.

Make sure your bread machine setting is on “DOUGH.” Truth be known, you can cook this right in the bread machine and make this a one step process. But today, we’re going to use cast iron. 

Step 2: Get the bread machine started and then add our wet ingredients.

Once you’ve measured out your dry ingredients, turn the bread machine on. Let the kneading paddle mix the dry ingredients around a bit first. Then add your room-temperature beer and oil to the mix and watch things a bit. DON’T drink or toss the rest of that beer in that bottle or can; we may still need some of it.

Beer is a tricky ingredient; if the beer “heads-up” in the measuring cup, it’ll throw the measurement off. Take note of the foam!

Once the ingredients (dry and wet) are mixed well, what does that dough look like? Too sticky? Too dry or maybe even crumbly? 

Too Sticky: Add a little flour to the basket while the kneading paddle is running. We are looking for the dough to knock around a bit and not stick or suction to the side of the basket. We want a semi sticky ball that is being rolled around by the bread maker’s paddle and not a sticky wad that makes a sucking sound as the kneading paddle spins.

Too Dry: If the spinning dough looks crumbly and looks a bit too dry, add a bit of the remaining beer from the bottle or can. Be careful. It will go from dry to a sticky mess with just the smallest amount of extra beer.

Give the machine a bit of time to spin before you add anything (more flour or more beer). It may look too dry or too wet initially but wait about 4-5 minutes and see how the dough is coming along.

Step 3: Wait for the bread machine to finish.

Depending on the bread machine’s settings, the mixing-of-the-ingredients to the-dough-is-ready-to-form state is about an hour or two (this depends on that timer on your specific bread machine).

Enjoy the rest of that beer and maybe another one.

Step 4: Butter the cast iron pan you plan to bake your bread in.

USE BUTTER. Nothing else will work as well…maybe lard. I’ve tried other oils and even bacon grease, but the non-stick nature of butter is unmatched in the bread baking process. It’ll help you get that successful, easy-to-pop-out loaf of bread.

After the bread machine has started working away, pull out between a teaspoon to a tablespoon of butter and put the butter in the bottom of the pan you are going to bake your bread in. Just let it sit there for a bit to soften up at room temperature. We’ll spread it with our fingers in a moment.

You will not preheat your cast iron. Your loaf will proof in the pan you plan to bake the bread in. To clarify, the term “Proof” or “Proofing” identifies the final rise the dough goes through and before you place it in the oven.

Before the bread machine *beeps* to let you know your dough is ready for your attention, use your bare hand and smear the butter all over the inside of the pan you are going to proof your loaf in. If you are using a square loaf pan, watch those corners. The butter needs to be in the edges and the four corners where the edges and the bottom of the pan meet. 

Step 5: Remove the dough and form our loaf.

Now we get to handle the dough. 

First, notice that the dough in the bread maker’s bread basket has gone through the first rise. There is an upside that is puffy round. When you pull the dough out, the bottom will be a bit more sticky than the top. Flip the dough when you place it on the countertop.

Lay a light dusting of flour on a countertop, reach into the bread machine basket and pull the dough out, and just plop it on the countertop with the sticky side UP. We’ll flip it again when we put it in the cast iron. 

Don’t knead the dough.

Forming the loaf is not hard but it’s easy to make things complicated here. Think of the side on the counter that’s face-down as the top (or eventually will become the top) of the loaf. The side that’s up will be the bottom. We want to create a rounded top. 

All you must do here is press the dough flat and bring the dough’s edges back around on itself like closing a bag or purse. Then, pinch the bottom of the loaf and create an oval loaf that is even in thickness on the edges as it is thick in the center. 

The loaf will want to take the shape of a football with a thick middle and tapering sides. A little football shape is okay, but we really want the loaf to sit evenly in the pan and rise evenly. If it’s not even, don’t sweat it. The pan will restrict its rising upward and often the loaf will even out more during proofing.

Let the loaf rise for about an hour or three or so. Don’t let it rise for too long or it will start to collapse or a weird air pocket will form just under the top of the loaf and create a space between the top and the rest of the bread.

Step 6: We’ll let the loaf proof (or rise) a bit and then we’ll bake the loaf in the oven

The bread needs to rise to the optimum point and then placed in the oven. How long…well, that depends.

The loaf in the video (see above) took 2.5 hours to rise and double in size.

Bread baking is not a skill that can be mastered after watching a video or reading an article. Like any recipe, it must be tried, tried, and tried again. The time it will take for optimum rising or proofing depends on a few factors. 

1. How large is your loaf?
2. What is the temperature of your home?
3. What season is it outside?
4. How much yeast did you use (and how “fresh” is your yeast)?
5. What kind of beer did you use and what was the temperature of that beer when you mixed it in?

These are just a few variables. Expect your first loaf to have some issues; it will not be perfect. But, after your first loaf, you will be able to identify things that you will do differently next time. Then, make bread again.

Don’t wait until the loaf proofs to the size of the loaf that you expect to come out of the oven. It will rise more in the oven for sure. Not only will it rise as the internal temperature of the loaf rises with the oven, the air pockets that cause the loaf to rise will expand as well. This is what often will cause the top of loaves to burst open or crack like artisan bread cracks. And, it is one of the reasons the loaf collapses on itself in the oven.

Step 7: After the loaf has baked, we’ll remove it and let it cool before enjoying it.

Now! That smells amazing!! But you must be patient here.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it rest in the pan for a minute or two. Then carefully turn it out onto a drying rack. 

Optional: Using a basting brush, apply some melted butter or oil on top of the loaf and sprinkle a bit of flaky salt on the top. Let it rest for about 10-15 minutes more and then…well…now it’s time to enjoy.