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Nashville Corn Light Bread

Source of Recipe

From "The Glory of Southern Cooking" by James Villas


Recipe Introduction

"'You do mean light corn bread, don't you?' I ask Anne Byrn ('The Cake Mix Doctor') as we share a platter of country ham, fried chicken, and biscuits with peach preserves at the eclectic Loveless Motel and Café just outside Nashville, Tennessee. 'No, honey, I mean just what I say: corn light bread. You're not the first person to act surprised, but you haven't lived till you've eaten it.' It ends up that corn light bread is a floury, sweet loaf that can be traced back to the early nineteenth century in Appalachia and is today almost an exclusive specialty of central Tennessee and particularly Nashville. Anne thinks it may be called 'light' since it's a cross between ordinary cornbread and white bread, and because there is some evidence that it was once made with yeast. Some folks in Nashville told me the bread just wouldn't work without water-ground cornmeal (very difficult to find outside the area), but I think even Anne would approve of the loaves I've made with regular yellow cornmeal. Do slather this bread with lots of butter."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 3 cups yellow cornmeal (preferably water-ground)
â—¦ 1 cup all-purpose flour
â—¦ 1 cup sugar
â—¦ 1 ½ teaspoons salt
â—¦ ½ teaspoon baking soda
â—¦ 3 cups regular buttermilk
â—¦ ¼ cup vegetable shortening, melted


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease two 1 ½-quart loaf pans with butter and set aside.

Sift together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the buttermilk and melted shortening and stir till the batter is well blended and smooth.

Scrape equal amounts of batter into the two prepared loaf pans and bake till the bread pulls away from the sides of the pans and is golden, about 45 minutes. Transfer the loaves to a rack and let cool before slicing.

Makes 2 loaves