Recipe: Sadaya Lewis’ Cornbread is Just a Touch Sweet

Sadaya “Daisy” Lewis, the founder of Modern Southern Table and one of our 2022 Tastemakers, grew up in Cleveland but would visit her grandmother, Mamie, in Alabama, learning family recipes with each visit.

“Growing up down South, we only ate non-sweet cornbread. When we came up here, we ate sweet cornbread. In the South, we would eat cornbread with dinner and then we would eat cornbread with buttermilk like cereal,” Lewis says. “I’m fine with either cornbread. I would end up putting sugar on top of it anyway. You used to just eat cornbread with your beans, your greens or with milk. But now it is more of a treat.”

Here, Lewis shares her recipe for buttermilk cornbread. Instead of topping with sugar, she suggests lathering it with honey butter. 

BUTTERMILK CORNBREAD

Start to Finish: 45 minutes

Servings: 6–8 slices

Ingredients:

Cornbread

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup salted butter
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs

Honey Butter

• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 tablespoon honey

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 375 F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients until evenly combined.
3. In a 10-inch cast iron skillet or pan, melt the butter in the oven.
4. Add the wet ingredients and the melted butter to the bowl with the dry ingredients and combine well.
5. Pour the batter into the skillet and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the honey butter. In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave on high for 30 seconds, then add honey until well combined.
7. Once the cornbread is golden brown, remove from the oven and immediately baste with the honey butter.

This story is from the August 2022 issue of Columbus Monthly.

More:Meet Sadaya Lewis, a 2022 Columbus Monthly Tastemaker