Basic Ingredients and Mixing

• Basic corn pone ingredients are white or yellow cornmeal, baking soda and baking powder, salt, water and cooking oil. Some recipes substitute buttermilk or plain milk for the water and bacon grease instead of vegetable oil, add flour and/or an egg, and even use sour cream. The ratio of water to cornmeal, and whether you add a little oil directly to the batter or not depends on the cooking method. A recipe using 2 cups of cornmeal makes 5 to 6 servings. In any cooking method, heat the oil hot enough to cook the bread quickly. If you put a drop of water in the oil and it sizzles, the oil is hot enough.

Oven-Baked and Browned

• Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Use one of two methods to cook corn pone.

  • Make a thicker batter to bake corn-shaped corn pone. Set the greased cast-iron pan to heat in the oven; add an additional bit of oil directly to the batter. Pour the thick batter into the individual oval-shaped sections of the corn pone cast-iron pan.

  • If you prefer to cook corn pone to slice like cornbread, heat oil in the baking dish or round cast-iron skillet and spread the batter evenly in the dish. The hot oil makes the outside of the corn pone crispy while the inside remains soft. Cook the corn pone for 30 minutes or until it's golden brown with crispy edges. After the corn pone is done, place the dish in the broiler briefly for additional browning.

Pan-Fried and Crispy

• Some cooks prefer to fry corn pone cornbread in a skillet on top of the stove. Make the batter the consistency of thick pancake batter to pan-fry cornbread that looks like round pancakes. Use a medium-high setting, and allow the oil to get hot enough to fry the corn pone for about 3 minutes on both sides until golden brown. Place the corn pone on a paper-towel-covered plate to drain.

Variations and Serving Suggestions

• Although traditional corn pone does not include sugar, variations on the standard recipe include all kinds of ingredients. For instance, you can add a bit of sugar, vanilla extract, milk and fresh corn kernels to your basic batter. Alternatively, add mashed bananas. For a Mexican-themed cornbread, add chopped green and red peppers and a few finely chopped jalapeno peppers. Serve corn pone plain or with butter, and spread it with honey, molasses, fruit preserves or jam.