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5 from 5 vote

Savory Cornbread (Pane di Mais con Pancetta)

Try our Pancetta Cornbread this holiday. Our all-time favorite cornbread recipe from scratch made even better with the addition of delicious pancetta. So easy to make and it goes great with any meal.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Dinner
Keyword: cornbread, pancetta
Servings: 1 8-inch cornbread
Author: Lora

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup of pancetta diced
  • 1 small onion chopped in small pieces
  • 1 3/4 cups of cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
  • 1 cup of buttermilk
  • 1/3 cups of sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons of salted butter cut into large chunks

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400° F. Place an 8 to 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven.
  • Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add a tablespoon of butter and melt. Add the onions and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Saute for another 3 minutes, until the pancetta is very lightly browned. Turn off the heat and set aside.
  • In a small saucepan, bring 3/4 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and pour in 1/2 cup of the cornmeal. Stir rapidly until you have a warm mush.
  • In a medium bowl, blend the remaining corn meal, flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
  • Add the buttermilk, sour cream, and eggs to the cornmeal mixture and mix well with a spatula. Fold in the pancetta and onions.
  • Once the oven has reached the desired temperature, remove the pan from the oven. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter to the pan and swirl to melt and grease the pan. Pour any excess butter into the cornmeal mixture.
  • Fold the pancetta and onions into the cornmeal mixture and stir until just incorporated with a wooden spoon. Don’t overwork the batter or the cornbread will be tough.
  • Carefully add the batter to the hot pan and smooth out the top. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown (check it with a toothpick in the center, it should come out clean-baking time will vary depending on the size of the pan you used). Serve warm.

Notes

Recipe notes: 
This cornbread is so easy to put together and as I mentioned earlier, there is no need to save it just for Thanksgiving! If you don't have a cast iron pan, you could use your oven proof skillet or bake it in a deep dish pie plate or a square baking pan.
And if you don't have any pancetta around or don't feel like buying it, bacon is absolutely fine to use in this recipe. Just remember, it may not be used as a part of the meal. The cornbread may become the meal once everyone takes a bite of it and sees how delicious it is!!

Nutrition

Serving: 8g