Hoecakes

In Southern New England these pre-date Washington, are known as Johnny Cakes, and were first made by natives tribes like the Narragansett. Supposedly the English name derives from “journey cakes”, as corn meal doesn’t rot as quickly as wheat or other flours, so would last a traveler longer. They’re still made- crisp on the outside, moist in the middle- in homes and restaurants all over Rhode Island.

Born in the South in the 40ties, corn was our staple. In this recipe I found the use of water rather than milk or buttermilk made a very watery, batter; there was half again too much salt; the use of yeast seemed unusual but still I used it. Unhappy with this recipe I reverted to the way we made Hoe cakes in Georgia; half self-rising flour as well as half self-rising corn meal, an egg, vegetable oil and buttermilk. One can make small cakes on stove or one big one on iron griddle in the oven.

I have made these from Mount Vernon's recipe, and they are so good, I let the batter rest overnight.

Wow! A recipe for joe cakes in the NYT. We grew having these with dinner in the summer replacing baked cornbread because it was too hot to use the oven. Hoecakes with collard green, beans and rices, and iced tea = heaven. Yum!

I believe these are either an acquired taste or proof that a hungry man will eat anything.

Skip the yeast, add a teaspoon of baking soda, swap the butter for bacon fat, thats what Washington ate, and my grandparents, and me :)

Where did Washington's cooks get active dry yeast?

These sound so delicious! Re the Yeast question, here is a good reference. So Washington's cooks probably got it from the beer they were brewing. https://www.exploreyeast.com/what-is-yeast/yeast-one-of-humankinds-oldest-ingredients/

Having grown up in the rural south hoecakes have been a breakfast staple all my life. I have varied my recipe over the years and currently make them using only oatmeal however when I am having soup beans AKA pinto beans seasoned with a little bacon corn meal hoecakes are the way to go. It is interesting that the article does not mention the history of the name hoecake. Apparently farm hands built a fire and cooked their cakes on a hoe.

Some traditional recipes for hoecakes call for no leavening at all – they are just thick cornmeal mush, cooled, made into cakes, and griddled or fried. Have fun!

I make "hoecakes" all the time instead of heating up the oven for a whole pan of cornbread. 2 cups of self rising cornmeal, 1/4 cup oil, 1-1/2 cups buttermilk and 1 egg. Mix it all together and fry about 1/4 cup batter for each cake in a little bit of oil, flipping once, for about 5 minutes. My husband and nephew devour them. Can easily be halved. The full recipe makes 10-12 hoecakes.

They must have used what today is known as sourdough starter. There was no commercial dry yeast 200 years ago.

Barm (yeast froth from beer making) was readily available in colonial times, and was preferred to sourdough starters for bread making.

The recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of salt. Is it sea salt, table salt, kosher salt, or what?

In those days it’s likely they used well-washed brewers yeast, a by-product of beer brewing, bought in moist, living blocks called cakes. it was washed for baking because as a by-product of making beer it was typically very bitter.