In a large bowl, soak cornmeal in milk for half an hour to soften grit. Mix in all remaining ingredients except flour. Slowly add flour until well mixed. Consistency should be the same as a muffin batter.

Poor mix into a buttered loaf pan. Bake in pre-heated oven at 375� F for 35 minutes. When done, knife inserted in center will come out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out on rack to cool at least another half an hour before slicing. (Bread continues to cook as it cools; do not slice too early as the bread will be clumpy and fall apart.) Serve warm with a pat of butter.

Use the same recipe as above, adding the additional ingredients to the mix before the flour. Poor mix into a sizzling-hot cast iron skillet (preferred) or buttered square pan. Bake at 375� F for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Notes:
- Try using 2 Tbsp. bacon drippings (from 2 slices bacon) instead of oil or melted butter.
- Try substituting yogurt, sour cream, or buttermilk for milk. (Buttermilk makes little difference.)
- Don�t add sugar or honey; just tastes wrong!

Southern vs Northern:
- Southern cornbread should contain no sugar or flour, and should be savory, moist, and dense, with a crispy crust, baked at high heat in a cast iron skillet, and served as squares or wedges.
- Northern cornbread should be a high-rising, soft, sweet, and cakey bread loaf, with equal parts cornmeal and flour, and up to a cup of sugar, baked at a lower temperature in a bread pan.

�The North thinks it knows how to make corn bread, but this is a gross superstition. Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern corn bread, and perhaps, no bread in the world is quite as bad as the northern imitation of it.� - Mark Twain, 1858