Southern Cornbread

This is THE real Southern cornbread, at least in my family. This is the way my mother and grandmothers made it, with stone-ground white cornmeal and buttermilk. Baking it in a preheated cast-iron skillet gives it a wonderful toasty brown crust. If your skillet is seasoned properly the cornbread will never stick - it will fall right out of the skillet when you turn it over. I love it right out of the oven slathered with butter - it's a slice of heaven!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 3  eggs, beaten
• 2  cups buttermilk
• 2  cups white cornmeal (stoneground if you can get it)
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2  teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄4 cup butter, melted
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Liberally grease a 10-inch cast iron skillet and let it preheat in the oven for about 10 minutes while preparing the cornbread batter.
3. Mix soda, baking powder, salt and sugar with cornmeal.
4. Add buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter and mix well.
5. Pour into the hot skillet and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.