Johnnycake

Ingredients

Batter

• 400 gplain flour
• 3 tbspbaking powder
• 100 gsugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 100 gbutter, melted
• 250 mlevaporated milk
• 1egg

To serve

• butter
• stewed fish
• conch chowder

Directions

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a bowl.
2. Beat the egg into the evaporated milk and the melted butter.
3. Evaporated milk is the Bahamian habit, born of a hot climate before refrigeration, and it gives a richer, faintly caramel crumb than fresh milk.
4. Stir the wet into the dry until only just combined, with some lumps remaining.
5. Do not beat it smooth. Overworked batter makes a tough, rubbery bread, and a few lumps disappear in the oven.
6. Melt a knob of butter in a heavy cast iron pan and swirl it up the sides.
7. Pour the batter into the hot pan and level the top.
8. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30 to 35 minutes, until deep golden and a skewer comes out clean.
9. It is denser and sweeter than an American cornbread and it contains no cornmeal at all, despite what the name suggests to most people.
10. Let it stand 10 minutes in the pan, then turn it out and cut it into wedges.
11. Serve it warm with butter, alongside stewed fish or conch chowder.
12. It is the everyday bread of the Bahamian table and it appears at breakfast and beside dinner equally.
13. The Belizean johnny cake under almost the same name is a small split biscuit made with coconut milk, and the two are different breads.

Technique

• No cornmeal, which surprises anyone expecting the American johnnycake.
• A cast iron pan gives the crisp brown crust that makes it worth eating.
• It keeps two days and toasts well after that.

Substitutions

• Whole milk with a spoonful of condensed milk in place of evaporated.
• Oil in place of melted butter.

Variations

• Baked in a loaf tin and sliced.
• With grated coconut through the batter.
• Johnny cake, the Belizean version, made with coconut milk.

History

Slightly sweet pan bread baked or griddled on boats and in island homes, its name common across the anglophone Caribbean.

Frequently asked questions

What is Johnnycake?

Johnnycake is a bread & pastry from Bahamas: slightly sweet dense pan bread. Slightly sweet pan bread baked or griddled on boats and in island homes, its name common across the anglophone Caribbean.

How long does Johnnycake take to make?

Johnnycake takes 15 min of preparation and 35 min of cooking. The recipe makes 1 round loaf. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Johnnycake?

Yes, within limits. Whole milk with a spoonful of condensed milk in place of evaporated. Oil in place of melted butter.

What is the most important thing to get right in Johnnycake?

Do not beat it smooth. Overworked batter makes a tough, rubbery bread, and a few lumps disappear in the oven.