Cornbread

Buttermilk instead of milk works very well. And no sugar.

For a gluten free option, use masa harina instead of flour. You'll need both eggs as masa makes a somewhat more crumbly texture. I use half buttermilk and half milk, adding a half teaspoon of baking soda. This makes a really delicious cornbread with a pretty intense corn flavor.

I really like the texture of this cornbread, but it was a little on the salty side. I would probably cut the salt in half next time.

This is a very authentic cornbread recipe, not at all like the typical cake-like recipe. The flavor of the corn really comes through. We love the fact that it has just one tablespoon of sugar. I've made it twice now, and the first time I followed the recipe exactly. In the second version I used grapeseed oil instead of butter, and that came out great too. Next time I will try the Old-Fashioned Cornbread recipe above. Thanks, Mark! We love your recipes!

I am confused on this point as well, one puts fat in pan and not in mixture?

Never, ever, would I put sugar in my cornbread.

I have been searching for a recipe cornbread that doesn't fall apart and is not sweet, and the "old-fashioned" version of this one is finally it! I made it with bacon fat in a heavy ceramic casserole dish and baked it for about 35 minutes. It was perfect! It doesn't keep well overnight though, (it got dry) so freeze leftovers right away.

Substitute buttermilk

I've made this many times. And the most delicious times have been by separating the yolks and egg whites, as the lighter cornbread tip suggests. I'm FOR using the full amount of sugar. My partner is anti-butter (bah), but I found using a .25 tbs butter to 3.75 tbs olive oil works. As with so many of Mark Bittman's recipes, this one is easy and adaptable! I like using half buttermilk and half whole milk. Also, halving the recipe works, throw the batter into an 8in cast iron pan.

Im assuming the fat needs to go into the mixture as well? Recipe is unclear only says to put fat into the pan LOL

When you pour the batter over the hot butter, it bubbles up through, which I like. The holes in the top of the cornbread that is pictured are the result of that.

Made with buttermilk; cut back on the sugar by half, didn't over-mix it. Baked for 35 minutes. Came out moist with a crispy crust. Leftovers wrapped tightly with plastic were still good the next day (not too dry). Next time I make this, I am confident bacon drippings will make it even better.

So don't use them, it's not that hard. As the recipe states: "Only a few ingredients are pretty much fixed: the salt, the baking powder, cornmeal and flour"

Definitely try the "old-fashioned" version - it brought me back to Appalachia where my paternal grandma made it almost exactly like this. She might have gone to zero sugar, relying on all that bacon fat to satisfy. And satisfy it did. The only thing missing was some fried chicken. Then, the recipe as written: Well that would be a trip to my other grandma's house up on Lake Superior in Minnesota where all the Scandanavians settled. Thanks for the memories Mr. Bittman!

This was my fourth cornbread this Christmas and the best so far. I took the advice of several cooks here - less salt, one-fourth cup of sugar and buttermilk instead of milk. It was good, but cakey and still not quite what I want in a cornbread....so still searching.