egg bread noun Cornbread made with eggs, sometimes containing cracklings.
1886 Smith History KY 400 (DARE) A most delicious egg-bread…is made. The same cornmeal is the body; and to this is added buttermilk, soda, and salt, eggs, milk, and some lard. 1901 Harben Westerfelt 45 I can taste your slice-potato pie yet, and your egg-bread and biscuits. 1949 Kurath Word Geog East US 39 From the Chesapeake Bay to the western parts of Virginia and the Carolinas…egg bread for a special kind of corn bread is current. 1998 Montgomery Coll (known to Bush, Shields).
—Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English
I came across this entry from the dictionary and was totally intrigued. When I first noticed egg bread my mind went to a custardy type of food like spoon bread. I was surprised to read the term was used for cornbread.
I’ve always put an egg in my cornbread and I know Granny has too, but I guess at some point it was more common to not add an egg to the batter.
I would like to have a slice of the potato pie mentioned and I love cracklings in my cornbread.
Please share your thoughts about the dictionary entry for egg bread.
Last night’s video: Papaw and Grandma Cook Supper.
Tipper
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The comments from wonderful people and their families are so enlightening to me; we grew up in the suburbs, our parents didn’t do much in terms of baking; sure, they made pot roast, chicken, and casserole dishes, but no sides that weren’t in a can already, like cornbread or green beans with bacon or fat; I research all these ideas from these comments; thank you everyone for your gift.
When growing up 75+ yrs back, mum added egg to cornbread she made & simply called it cornbread! Who knows? It’s probably a Midwestern thing or a necessity thing. Like no hens, no eggs.
I have never used egg in cornbread, only cornmeal, buttermilk and grease, lard or oil in a cast iron skillet. My husband’s family always used egg which I had never heard of until meeting him and I thought it was weird. He is 72 now and after he saw your cornbread video a while back he said “see I told you you’re supposed to put egg in cornbread “. Needless to say we had a good laugh and I still don’t use egg. Thanks for the insight.
Brenda Gannt who has a YouTube channel, makes egg bread for her dressing. Like others have said she makes it with many eggs. Brenda is a southern cook from Andalusia Alabama.
My mother and grandmother made the very best cornbread (no sugar!) and everything else, too. My mother always used an egg; my grandmother sometimes did and sometimes didn’t. They both used a cast iron skillet. Although neither preheated the skillets, the cornbread always had a crunchy crust. (Sometimes my grandmother used a lightweight iron skillet, and that she did preheat.) Whenever I preheat my cast iron skillet, the cornbread comes out with a hard thick crust, not crunchy, so I don’t preheat. (I bake it at 450, so maybe that’s why.). Another thing my grandmother told me was to add a little water when the buttermilk was very thick and rich. Now I always add a splash of water when I make cornbread, in memory of my grandmother.
I have seen cornbread dressing recipes that call for egg bread. It is cornbread that has more than just one egg added to the batter. Fannie Flagg’s Whistle Stop Cafe cookbook has such a recipe. I personally don’t like the taste of a real “eggy” cornbread. One egg is fine with me.
I learned to make cornbread from my Kentucky mother and grandmothers. And it seems reasonable that the recipe might have included bacon grease rather than another type of oil. When making cornbread as a part of our Thanksgiving dinner, it was a pretty traditional recipe that includes the egg. But since we were growing up in Texas, we put a different spin on the cornbread that we ate. When I fix it to eat alongside the delicious chili that my husband makes, I often add cheddar cheese, lots of jalapeños, and sometimes even whole kernel corn. That may not be very traditional but we think it is really good . And others who have tried it at our home agree.
I add two eggs to my cornbread. I cook it in my precious Mama’s cast iron skillet. I think of her each time I use the ones she gave me before she passed away. Love your stories.
Shirley, I have a cast iron skillet given to me by a wonderful older friend 50 years ago. It was my official cornbread skillet for years and still is for cornbread to make dressing. As you said, I remember her when I use that skillet. Our family is small now & I cook cornbread in a smaller skillet. Mama always put an egg in cornbread put no grease except what she heated in the skillet. I do it the same way.
I’ve always used two eggs and do my corn bread in a cast iron skillet.
We had cornbread most every night. Never added eggs. Just self rising meal and some flour. Added milk and water almost equal amounts. Saved the
milk for crumbled cornbread and milk later that night or lunch next day. Along with big slice of raw onion. Yummy!
Have no clue what my mom put in her fried corn bread…..I take that back-no sugar. I can still taste the crispy crunch in my mine. Pair that with some delicious pot roast with gravy, fresh conk peas, rice, slices of onion and fresh sliced tomatoes. That was a meal that would never be in a 5 Star Michelin restaurant, but I would never trade one of those over a dinner my mother cooked.
I most often just make my cornbread with cornmeal, oil and buttermilk. I pour it into a well-greased pan and bake it on high heat until it’s golden brown. It makes a thinner cake of cornbread. That’s the way Mama made hers. Grandmama didn’t use an egg either, but when she made her batter, she fried it in bacon grease on top of the stove. The batter was thin enough and she would take a spoon and make the prettiest little patties of cornbread and it was delicious. It wasn’t hushpuppies. These were a round shape and thin and crispy. Neither me nor Mama could ever make those like Grandmama did. At home, occasionally we had crackling cornbread and sometimes Mama made flour bread or what she called a hoecake and put cracklings in it. I love cornbread anyway you make it except I don’t want sugar in it.
Well, Tipper, I’ve been using your recipe for cornbread since 2013! Can you believe it’s been that long? I just looked back on my blog, because I knew I’d posted a link to your recipe.
Your breakfast supper looked delicious!! I’ve never heard of egg bread but my Mother and Grandmothers used eggs in their cornbread. They were as southern as you can get and their cornbread was fantastic! Matt made the gravy just like I do, except I carefully try to get my flour and bacon grease a little more browner color but we call it milk gravy and oh my it is so good:)
Don’t know if the dictionary meant sweet potato pie for “potato pie,” but I assume they did, and my Mother made the best sweet potato pie that I have ever eaten.
Egg bread was cornbread made with extra eggs, at least 2-3 more. It rose high, had a delicate crumb, and was lighter in color than regular cornbread.
If you didn’t have time to make a full-on cornbread dressing, you made egg bread for your chicken and dumplings, white chicken gravy, or chicken stock soup.
You slice it and put your chicken stuff on top. Delicious.
Stephen-thank you! I’m going to try that 🙂
I have never put eggs or milk in my cornbread and I have never heard of it being called egg bread.
I always add an egg to my cornbread, but I would not consider it “egg bread”. Like you, I pictured something much more “custardy”.
My grandmother didn’t use an egg in her cornbread. They moved from the Greenville SC area to Tennessee so my grandfather could go to work for TVA. Two of his brothers made the move too and also hired on with the TVA. One of them, my great uncle, wouldn’t eat cornbread if it had egg in it. I’ve always added an egg or two to my iron skillet baked cornbread.
Larry, I live in Southern Greenville County, SC. My uncle and aunt moved from the city of Greenville to Chattanooga. He started his own scale (Toledo) business after learning to work on scales while living in Greenville. His wife was raised within site of the bottom of the incline railroad.
I’ve always put eggs in my cornbread.
My mother never put an egg in her batter and I don’t either. I put two. One for each cup of cornmeal. I use jumbo eggs and if I can’t find them I’ll use three. I also add a tablespoon of butter to mine.
I wonder why the receipt calls for buttermilk and milk? I know you need the buttermilk to react with the sody to make the bread rise but why then add milk? Milk and buttermilk are the same thing, especially in olden days, only the first is adolescent, the other more mature.
My mother made what she called egg bread, but she simple dipped light bread into eggs with a dash of milk or cream and then fried the bread, similar to french toast batter or bread pudding but hers were more egg than milk. We ate them sometimes with syrup or honey but mostly plain, and they were good. When cooked, they looked more like fried eggs than bread. I’ve always put an egg in my cornbread though I’ve never used a recipe but go by the look and feel of the batter. Honestly, I don’t know why I put an egg in my cornbread. I think it just became a baking habit because I always put an egg in my homemade bread batters, too.
I always add an egg to my cornbread and I bake it in an iron skillet like you do Miss Tipper. My mama also always added an egg. She only made cornbread when she cooked a pot of beans for supper. All the other days, she made biscuits and homemade bread or rolls on Sundays. My hubby’s sweet Italian grandma always used cornmeal and made polenta. It is cornmeal cooked in water. She would cook it in an iron skillet and leave it to set up. She served it with homemade marinara sauce on top. I was introduced to many new dishes I had never eaten before when I started dating my hubby. I just wish I had watched her cook and written down her recipes while she was still here with us. When you are young, you don’t think of these things so much. I loved your breakfast for supper video. It makes me want to have that same meal this evening. Happy Monday everyone!
Your comment really took me back to childhood. My aunt, who did the cooking, would announce that we were having “slim pickins “, which meant no meat. It was always beans with cornbread and green onions on the side. She was apologetic but I loved it!
Egg bread to me is Easter sweet bread with colored eggs laid in and usually in a round and braided pattern. Fancy stuff TALLIES usually make. It’s both PURTY and delish. Plus one can eat the boiled eggs so nothing is wasted. Speaking of which, I was sick as a dog “yesterDEE.” Ridin’ high in the saddle again though. Lol. Tipper, YOU showed me how to make the best cornbread in the world and I won’t ever be able to thank you enough for that alone!!! My painters raved about my perfect cornbread and tater soup I made on a cold nasty day. It made me so proud. Everybody now says being a pan of your cornbread to their suppers. In the past, they said pick up some soda pops and plastic utensils. Lol I got one question-did you bust holes in the bottoms your seed plastic cups or not? I’ve got my seeds, my greenhouse is up and in the next few days I’m putting in my seeds. Going to St. Louis last year put me behind the seed eight ball. Lol. God bless you all and ESPECIALLY Dear Lord, watch over sweet sweet Granny and our pride and joy baby Ira. Lord look after Tipper and her whole clan too! Amen
Hey Sadie. I made Easter bread this year for the first time. This is another great thing my hubby’s Italian grandma always made each Easter and I never got her recipe. I found a recipe this year that sounded exactly like hers, flavored with anise, raisins, lemon juice and lemon zest. It should be called egg bread because it used 8 eggs for two loaves. I even braided it and it turned out surprisingly beautiful and delicious. I halved my dough and left the anise and raisins out if one loaf. I added vanilla extract to the second loaf instead. My hubby ended up liking the plain lemon flavored loaf the best. He has never been a lover of raisins. I did not add the colored eggs but did drizzle a thin powdered sugar glaze over the bread and added a few spring colored sprinkles to make it pretty.
My mother put an egg in her cornbread and maybe some bacon grease but no cracklings although she said when she was growing up in Ky her mother used them. They had a small farm and when they killed a hog used about every part. I have had fried cornbread, and no egg was put in the batter. The term ‘egg bread’ was never used as far as I can remember.
Enjoyed reading the blog. Very interesting
One thing I noticed was it said eggs. It would have to be a special kind of cornbread because my family traded eggs for coffee, sugar, salt, stuff they couldn’t grow or make themselves. I still have my grandpa’s egg basket that he used to carry them to town. One day during covid I wanted cornbread and had no milk or eggs. I remembered the water bread recipe so I tried it. My husband didn’t know what I had done so I was real surprised when he said that it was the best cornbread he could remember having. I think you can tasted the cornmeal in it more is the main difference. Never knew anybody who put sugar in it till I moved north.
growing up poor there were lots of times either mom or I left the egg out of cornbread because we had no eggs…same with milk in cornbread or biscuits–I know lots of people love water gravy but it just takes me back to when we had to have water gravy due to cow being dry and I could not stand such plain tasting gravy…and by the by I have been making biscuits for at least sixty years but I find it hard to use self rising flour because even though easy it is not how I learned to make biscuits–mom had to buy 25lbs of flour to last us two weeks or little longer and one kind of flour was all we had, we did not have the luxury of self rising flour or cornmeal so everything I learned to cook was totally from scratch, no short cuts in our low income family….but we ate good cause we lived off the land alot so we were not deprived..squirrel fish turtle deer geese ducks crawdads bullfrogs calf fries mmmmm good
I grew up in South Georgia and we always called baked cornbread egg bread. Egg bread was only cooked to be used for dressing. The cornbread we had every day was what I have since heard called hot water cornbread and was fried in bacon grease with into what we called a hoe cake. It did not contain eggs.
Anne-thank you! I didn’t even think about fried cornbread. When I make it I don’t put an egg in it either 🙂
I remember helping make cracklin when I was young. I also remember getting my finger too close to that oil and burning the whole tip of my middle finger. I slept with my finger on a cup of cool water all night. That hurt so bad. Anyway, I just love how your posts take me back in time.
Hope you are getting lots of snuggles from Ira. Oh, what joy he must bring.
Laura, in my first comment I mentioned killing our hog. The pieces of fat meat for cracking was cooked in two large cast iron pots that my Grandmother also wash their work clothes in. I do not know what she did did about them being greasy before washing her clothes after cooking out the cracklings. Granddaddy was the only one that tended the fire under these pots when cooking out or rendering these meat for the cracklings and the grease for lard. He had a great fear of getting it too hot and scorching the lard. Anything cooked in scorched lard would have a scorched taste.
My wife made the best unsweetened cornbread I have ever ate, she always put an egg in her batter, but didn’t measure anything else in it. She would say I know when it is like I want it. My Daddy made real good sweet potato pies, he may have put an egg in them but I do not know for sure. We always had cracklings each year after killing our hog and would have crackling cornbread but I never particularly cared for it but would eat it. When I was growing up there were no picky children when it came to food, we learned real quick it was eat whatever was on the table or go hungry. Mother and Daddy would often cook together, especially breakfast , we did not eat cereal or toast, breakfast was most often grits, eggs, homemade biscuits and some type of pork meat. They would get up early enough to cook this before we went to school or Daddy left for work.