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First of all I prefer a heavy thick cornbread with a crusty bark on the outside edge like grandma used to make. Southern country cooking at its finest! Not a Jiffymix which is like yellow cake. I have a couple cast iron pans that make individual small roll-size loafs, or sometimes I just use a cast iron skillet to bake it in. The importance of cast iron is that it can be preheated to a high temp, then just before the batter is poured in grease the loaf cavities or skillet with bacon grease. If the bacon grease smokes a little then the temp is just right. If you need to fry up some bacon for the grease you can crumble the bacon up & add it to the batter.
I start with a basic cornbread recipe of ground cornmeal, flour, baking soda & baking powder, brown sugar or molasses or maple syrup (your option), an egg or two, butter, etc. I don't use any oil but you might if you want a softer cake-like cornbread. You can find a basic recipe to start with & modify to your liking. Tomorrow I will be adding a can of whole kernel corn (drained) & a small can of mild green diced chilies to the batter. Sometimes instead I add fresh diced jalapeño peppers; sometimes the crumbled bacon. It just depends on what I'm eating with it. Just experiment to find what you like best.
