Welcome » Southern Spoonbread

This southern spoonbread is fabulous. When we moved to Charlotte, we discovered that our church organized dinner groups, so we signed up to meet new people. It is a beautiful way to make new friends while sharing favorite foods. Our friend Teri brought this Southern comfort food to one of our dinners, and it was an immediate hit. We may have even guiltily scraped the dish clean. Here is my lightened version, which depends on yogurt to deliver the desired texture and flavor without all the calories.

Southern Spoonbread Recipe

Servings: 10
Calories per: 221
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 1 hr
Difficulty: Easy

WHAT YOU NEED	WHAT TO DO	WHY
1 teaspoon butter	Evenly butter an 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking dish, or cast iron pan. In any case, the depth should be at least 3 inches. Place a rack two-thirds down in the oven; preheat to 350°F Convection (verify with an oven thermometer). Meanwhile…	Depth prevents overflow as batter swells during baking. Internal oven thermostats are often improperly calibrated.
1 large egg 1 cup yogurt, plain whole milk 3 tablespoons butter, unsalted, melted	In a 3-quart bowl, whisk all together.	Yogurt produces moist, light spoonbread.
24 ounces (4 cups) yellow corn kernels, fresh or frozen 2 ounces (½ cup) yellow onion, diced to 1/4 inch ½ cup whole milk	If using frozen corn, load into a mesh strainer and rinse under hot tap water for 15-20 seconds to defrost; drain thoroughly, giving vigorous shakes. Pulse corn and milk together 3-4 times in a food processor to break up 20-25% of the kernels. Whisk all into the egg mixture.	Defrosting shortens the baking time. Thorough draining prevents watering down the batter.
4 ounces (4/5 cup) whole yellow cornmeal, stone ground 1 ⅔ ounces (1/3 cup) all-purpose flour, bleached ⅓ cup granulated sugar 1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder 1 teaspoon fine sea salt	Place a 1-quart bowl on a scale and weigh in the flour. Add remaining ingredients, sifting in the baking powder; whisk all together. Add to egg mixture in thirds, stirring with a silicone spatula after each addition just until there is no dry flour. Do not over mix. Scrape into prepared baking dish/pan. Bake until edges are amber and the top begins to show color (~45 minutes). If cooling, transfer to a wire cooling rack; cover with a lint-free cloth.	Weighing flour produces consistent results. Bleached flour is low in gluten, which promotes a tender crumb. Sifting eliminates distasteful clumps. Adding dry ingredients in thirds decreases overall mixing time, minimizing gluten development.