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Cornmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

Source of Recipe

From "Basic to Brilliant, Y'all" by Virginia Willis


Recipe Introduction

"I wake up hungry. Buttered pancakes dripping with syrup? Sausage and soft-scrambled eggs? Cheese grits? Yes, please. We lived in Louisiana when I was a little girl, and we would pause at a truck stop in Mississippi on visits to see my grandparents back in Georgia. We ordered steaming bowls of scrambled eggs, grits, and sausage rudely smashed together in a glorious mess, a short stack of pancakes on the side. To this day, every time those flavors marry in my mouth, I vividly remember the tile floors, fluorescent tubes, and vinyl booths of that roadside spectacle. Ham biscuits make me think of eating breakfast in college on the run, and cheese toast brings memories of leftover biscuits leaving dark brown crumbs on the foil-lined bottom of my grandmother's toaster oven."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ ¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
â—¦ ¾ cup fine yellow cornmeal
â—¦ 2 tablespoons sugar
â—¦ ½ teaspoon baking powder
â—¦ ½ teaspoon baking soda
â—¦ ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
â—¦ 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
â—¦ 2 large eggs
â—¦ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
â—¦ 2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more if needed
â—¦ Sorghum, cane, or maple syrup, for accompaniment


Recipe

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter in a bowl or liquid measuring cup. Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk just until combined.

Preheat the oven to 300° F.

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat and lightly coat with canola oil. Ladle ¼ cup batter into the pan for each pancake, cooking only a few at a time. Cook until the bubbles on the top burst and the bottoms are golden brown, about 1 ½ minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil to the pan as necessary. Transfer to warmed serving plates. Serve hot or warm with sorghum, cane, or maple syrup.

Makes 10