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If you believe there’s only one way to make cornbread, think again. There is cornbread and then there is hot water cornbread. The latter uses just cornmeal, hot water, salt and fat (butter, oil) and is as easy and quick to make as it is delicious. Hot water cornbread differs from traditional cornbread in two ways; the method of how it’s cooked and its texture.
Fried in a skillet, hot water cornbread is shaped into patties and features a crispy outside with a more dense, crumbly inside compared to traditional cornbread’s moist and soft texture that results from baking. But the most interesting thing about hot water cornbread is how it uses hot water as its only leavening ingredient.
The Roots of a Classic Soul Food Recipe
Georgia-based chef Gina Capers-Willis, who operates the boutique catering company What’s Gina Cooking, believes this soul food dish can be traced to the Lowcountry recipes of the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of enslaved Africans, who live on the lower Atlantic coast.
“I call it Gullah fry bread because that’s basically what it is, but it’s just [made] with the cornmeal. Like most of our recipes, it came to be because of lack [of ingredients]—if you only have cornmeal and water, that’s what you had to work with,” relates Capers-Willis, who also runs The Gullah Heritage Kitchen, her nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing Gullah Geechee food traditions.
“I’m thinking the Native Americans have it too. I mean, they were the ones that had the corn.”
Hot Water Cornbread: Easy, Quick and Delicious
To make hot water cornbread, Capers-Willis begins by boiling about 3/4 cup of water in a saucepan. She then places one and a half cups of fine-ground yellow cornmeal in a heat-safe bowl.
“Just use plain, don’t use the self-rising cornmeal,” the Savannah resident says, noting how the hot water is key in making the cornmeal rise during cooking. “If you use the self-rising cornmeal, you kind of ruin the whole point of the rising part with the hot water.”
Like most skilled cooks, Capers-Willis admits to “eyeballing” the ingredients for hot water cornbread. So, use her recipe as a guide for making your own version of this dish.
The chef begins by adding to the cornmeal “about a half teaspoon of salt and probably a little melted butter, about two and a half tablespoons.”
Once the water has come to a boil, she carefully begins adding it to the cornmeal mixture. Stir continuously, preferably with a wooden spoon, to combine all the ingredients. “You’re adding the hot water, little by little, to make a dough. Remember you can always add water but you can’t take it out,” she notes.
The chef also cautions against adding more cornmeal should the dough become too wet because then the mixture will become too “mealy.”
Aim for a pizza dough consistency coaches the Gullah Geechee chef. She says that as you’re stirring in the hot water, it will begin to cook the cornmeal. Once the dough reaches the right consistency, set it aside for about five minutes at room temperature.
Into the Skillet: Shaping and Frying
While the dough rests, Capers-Willis takes a well-seasoned cast iron skillet and allows it to heat up on. Into the pan, she adds some oil and butter, noting, “I put in butter because I like that buttery taste.”
“I add enough oil to cover the pan bottom along with maybe two pats of butter. You want to just have enough oil to kind of have the hot water cornbread ‘float’ on top of the oil while cooking. You don’t want to add too much oil because then the cornbread becomes greasy. Like I said, you can always add but you can’t take it out.”
Once the dough is ready, Capers-Willis likes to use a small cookie scooper to portion the dough into one-inch pieces. “I shape the cornmeal into balls and then I use my thumb and press down to make little patties,” she shares, adding you’ll get about ten patties from this recipe.
“Once the oil is hot enough, I place the cornmeal patties in the pan. It will take two to three minutes on each side to cook. You want to keep an eye on it—it’s just like cooking a pancake. When you start seeing those edges cooking, then you can start flipping the patties,” shares the culinary pro.
“They’ll fluff up as you’re cooking and you’ll know when they’re done when it looks golden with crispy edges. Some people like the patties lighter, but I always like mine kind of brown in color.”
One thing to watch for as you’re cooking the hot water cornbread patties is, “You want to maintain the temperature of your oil,” says Capers-Willis. “You don’t want that as soon as you put your patties in, it will turn dark and smoke.”
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Let’s Fancy Up and Serve This Cornbread
To “fancy up” (as the chef’s late mother would say) her hot water cornbread, the seasoned pro will sometimes add extra touches to the recipe. “My thing is to fry some fresh corn kernels and add it to the cornmeal mixture,” notes Capers-Willis. “And, sometimes, I’ll add a few red peppers to give it color. I’ve also added jalapeño peppers.”
As for what to serve with hot water cornbread, the What’s Gina Cooking founder says that since it’s a savory accompaniment, it pairs well with sweetness “A lot of people, at least down here, would eat it with syrup; most Southerners like an aga [agave nectar] syrup.”
She further points out that this dish also tastes amazing with shrimp and grits, stewed chicken and fried fish along with other seafood. “Treat hot water cornbread the way you would treat bread,” she advises about how to serve this time-honored treat.
The next time you have a yen for the home-goodness taste of cornbread, try hot water cornbread. The recipe’s simple ingredients, paired with its easy cooking technique, may just be what’s needed to satisfy that craving.
For more information about chef Gina Capers-Willis and her culinary classes and catering business, check out What’s Gina Cooking online. Learn more about the traditions of Gullah Geechee cuisine by visiting The Gullah Heritage Kitchen.
Make Gina’s Hot Water Cornbread For Yourself
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup of fine-ground yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon
1/4 – 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
PREPARATION
1. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil.
2. As you wait for the water to boil, add the cornmeal to a heat-resistant bowl.
3. Add salt and butter to cornmeal in the bowl and combine with cornmeal.
4. After the water begins to boil, carefully begin adding it to the cornmeal mixture little by little. Stir continuously, preferably with a wooden spoon, to combine all the ingredients.
5. Slowly add in the water until you have a pizza dough consistency. Once the dough reaches the right consistency, set it aside for about five minutes at room temperature.
6. In a skillet, add oil and heat on medium-high. Add 1 tablespoon butter.
7. Take a small cookie scooper to portion the dough into one-inch pieces and press down into little patties.
8. When oil is hot enough, add patties (don’t crowd the skillet) to hot oil and cook on each side for 2-3 minutes to golden brown and crispy. Remove and place on a wire rack or plate. Repeat as necessary.
9. Serve as a side complement to the dish of your choice.
