Corn Light Bread Good to the Last Crumb - so good you'll slap your mammy!

(L-R) Carol Ann Watson and her longtime friend, Rose Ann Donnell

This regional favorite has been made in west Tennessee kitchens for well over 130 years. It doesn’t have the crustiness of cornbread, but is more cake like. Many people serve it with barbecue; some make turkey sandwiches with it; others serve it with a plate of fresh garden vegetables. But my favorite way, is sandwiches with thin slices of Tripp country ham. The sweetness of the bread and the saltiness of the ham is a perfect match.

For a number of years, Brown’s United Methodist Church sponsored a food booth at the West Tennessee State Fair and these sandwiches along with hundreds of gallons of Brunswick Stew. Though they no longer have the booth, a friend who has long been one of the ring leaders at the fair, Carol Ann Watson, shared her grandmother’s recipe with me. It is a little time consuming, but once you’ve tasted it, nothing else matches up. The Master Chef of the Year flipped over this recipe from the undisputed “Queen of the Kitchen.” It really is good to the last crumb, and just like that old saying, "So good you'll slap your mammy."

Grandmother’s Corn Light Bread

Scald:

1 cup plain meal with 2 cups boiling water

Add:

1-1/2 cups milk

Salt to taste

Beat in:

1 cup meal

1 cup plain flour

Spread 1 cup dry meal over top; cover with a towel; let stand overnight. Place in a warm environment. (I put in the oven with just the light in the oven on. Do not turn on the oven, just the light.) Batter should be

slightly puffed on top and the meal broken across the top.

Next morning, add:

1 teaspoon soda

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons oil

Beat. Grease a large loaf pan or 2 medium size loaf pans. Line bottom of pan with parchment or wax paper, if pan is not non- stick pan. Pour into pan and bake at 350 about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours for large pan and 1 hour for smaller pans. (Bread will not rise a great deal.) Check for doneness with a toothpick…should come out clean. The secret to this recipe is letting the batter ferment! Carol Ann Watson, Jackson TN

Corn Light Bread Made Easy

2 cups plus 1 tablespoon self-rising white cornmeal, divided

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Grease a 9- x 5-inch loaf pan, and sprinkle pan lightly with 1 tablespoon cornmeal. Combine 2 cups cornmeal and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl; add remaining ingredients, stirring until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan, and let stand 10 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours, just lightly browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. May be served hot or cold.