Herbed Skillet Cornbread for #TwelveLoaves

Did you know you could bake in a skillet? Not a cast iron one, but a regular frying pan type skillet? I admit I didn’t until recently. I was looking for recipes to use the herbs I’m growing in my garden. Some of those herbs have been quite plentiful this year. I ran across a recipe in my search and the first thing that popped in my head was cast iron. Reading the method brought a surprise. It was a new one I had to try and, sure enough, Herbed Skillet Cornbread became my latest baking adventure.

Cast iron is truly the southern skillet to use for cornbread. However, not everyone has one. Some are intimidated by the upkeep and even I’ve had rusting issues. I’ve even been the owner of one that had some weird reaction after rinsing it where half was as shiny as stainless steel and the other half completely rusted. It must have been a faulty one. I threw it in the trash and didn’t get another one until a few years ago.

Herbed Skillet Cornbread is similar to dressing. The taste is reminiscent to it except it is brightened up with fresh summer herbs. I would skip using sage or it would be too much like dressing. The cornbread is moist and somewhat dense. However, a good dose of baking powder helps it rise and keeps it from being as dense as dressing. Onions and celery offer their classic savory flavors. Pimento peppers give it a pop of color and are a nod to southern cuisine.

What bread do you bake with fresh herbs? One that I’ve enjoyed is Rosemary Focaccia. For cast iron baking, my Dad’s cornbread is always at the top of the list. Scroll down to see more recipes for the August Twelve Loaves Challenge of using summer herbs in bread baking.

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Herbed Skillet Cornbread

Bake this savory herbed skillet cornbread in a frying pan for an easy bread to serve with any meal. It is filled with fresh herbs and vegetables.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American Southern

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Author Renee

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups plain yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs rosemary, thyme, or your choice
• 1 jar pimento peppers 4 ounces, drained
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk at room temperature
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
• 3 large eggs at room temperature

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 10-inch ovenproof skillet or 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil. Grease foil (or use non-stick foil).
2. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add onion, celery, herbs, and pimento peppers. Stir to combine.
3. Whisk together milk, butter, and eggs in a medium bowl. Pour into large bowl with dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.
4. Pour into foil-lined skillet. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until deep golden brown. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Bake this savory herbed skillet cornbread in a frying pan for an easy bread to serve with any meal. It is filled with fresh herbs and vegetables.

Recipe adapted from one in Pillsbury’s The Complete Book of Baking cookbook published in 1993. (Affiliate link to Amazon where you can purchase the book).

Use fresh summer herbs to bake bread. Check out these wonderful recipes for the season by talented bakers:

• Basil Buns by Rise of The Sourdough Preacher
• Gluten Free Basil Parmesan Popovers by Simply Gourmet
• Herbed Buttermilk Biscuits by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Herbed Skillet Cornbread by Magnolia Days
• Keema Naan by Food Lust People Love
• Pesto Bread by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Pesto Quick Bread by Rhubarb and Honey
• Pull-Apart Bread w/ Cheese, Herbs, & Seeds by girlichef
• Rosemary Grissini by Cake Duchess
• Rosemary Parmesan Flatbread Crisps by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Thyme for Beer Bread by Kudos Kitchen by Renee

#TwelveLoaves August: Summer Herbs. The month of July was all about breads and Summer Fun! We have chosen Summer Herbs for our August theme. Let’s share flat breads, rolls, buns, grilled breads-whatever sweet or savory version you’d like and whatever you feel reflects summer flavors! Whatever you bake, (yeasted, quick bread, crackers, muffins, braids, flatbreads, etc) have fun and let’s have a delicious month of bread for summer herbs! Let’s get baking!

Do you want to add your bread to the collection with the linky tool this month? Here is what you need to do:

• When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post. This helps us to get more members as well as share everyone’s posts. Please make sure your bread is inspired by the theme.
• Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.
• Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this August, 2014, and posted on your blog by August 31, 2014.

Twelve Loaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess and runs smoothly with the help of our friends. Thanks to Sherron from Simply Gourmet for hosting this month’s event!