Corn-Meal Griddle Cakes

A plain scald-free cornmeal batter typical of turn-of-the-century griddle work. The proportions are sound; the vagueness is all in the liquid and the cross-reference to earlier instructions.

• Liquid quantity"Milk or milk and water to mix to thin batter" is the only guide given. Expect roughly 2 to 2 1/2 cups; the batter should pour from the spoon in a ribbon, not drop in lumps.
• Let it standThe hinge of any cornmeal cake. Mix and rest the batter 10 to 15 minutes so the meal hydrates, or the cakes taste gritty and drink up more liquid on the griddle than expected. Thin again with milk after resting if needed.
• Cornmeal gradePeriod recipes assumed a fine to medium stone-ground white or yellow meal. Coarse polenta-grind will not soften in this batter; degerminated supermarket cornmeal works but gives a blander cake.
• Baking powderTwo teaspoons to three cups of dry meal and flour is on the low side by modern taste. If the cakes come out dense, go to a full tablespoon, and cook the batter promptly rather than letting the leavening sit spent.
• "Bake as already directed"This points back to earlier griddle-cake instructions elsewhere in the section, which are not reproduced here. Standard griddle-cake practice is a hot griddle lightly greased, cakes poured to about 4 inches, turned once when the surface bubbles have broken and the edges look dry. On a modern appliance a setting around 375F suits pancakes, though the book gives no temperature; the first cake is always the test.
• MolassesOne tablespoon is for color and a faint bitterness, not sweetness, and it will make the cakes brown faster. Watch the first side closely.
• YieldAbout 16 to 18 cakes of 4 inches, serving four.