Food - Drink
What Makes Hot Water Cornbread Different From The Classic?
By ERICA MARTINEZ
Classic cornbread is a soul food staple, a cake-like bread made with cornmeal that's baked in the oven and best served warm, Treated like a dinner roll, it goes with anything on your plate, but you may not know that there's another type of Southern cornbread that never even sees the heat of an oven, and is much simpler to make.
Hot water cornbread is a type of cornbread that requires combining ground cornmeal with boiling water and other ingredients like salt, liquid fat, and sugar, a shorter list compared to baked versions. Unlike classic cornbread, hot water cornbread is cooked in hot oil or bacon grease on the stove, much like pancakes.
Hot water cornbread can be slathered with butter and honey or maple syrup for a sweet treat, eaten just like baked cornbread as a side dish, or used as a vehicle to sop up chili and beans. The minimal ingredients and quick fry time make hot water cornbread much quicker to assemble and cook, giving you a cornbread fix in minutes.