Johnny cakes are one of those old-fashioned foods that make sense for a preparedness pantry. They are simple, use basic ingredients and can be cooked in a skillet without an oven.
If you already store cornmeal, this is one of the easiest ways to turn it into a hot bread.
Simple Johnny Cake Recipe
You only need a few ingredients.
1 cup cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
About ¾ cup boiling water
A little oil, shortening or other cooking fat
Place the cornmeal and salt in a bowl. Slowly add the hot water and stir. Add just enough water to make a thick mixture that will hold together.
Let it cool for a few minutes. Heat a lightly greased cast-iron skillet or griddle.
Shape the cornmeal mixture into small, thin cakes. Cook until the bottom is browned and firm. Flip carefully and cook the other side.
Grid-Down Tip: If conserving cooking fuel, you don't have to heat water separately. Mix the cornmeal with room-temperature water and let it rest for about 15–20 minutes before cooking. Coarser cornmeal may need a little longer to soften.
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| Only 3 ingredients - cornmeal, water, salt |
Why Johnny Cakes Work for Food Storage
The biggest advantage is the ingredient list. Cornmeal stores easily compared with many fresh foods. Salt stores well. Water is basic. Cooking oil or shortening is useful to keep in a preparedness pantry anyway.
There is no yeast to worry about. There are no eggs or milk required in the basic version. You do not need an electric mixer or conventional oven.
That makes johnny cakes useful during a power outage, while camping or anytime you are trying to cook from stored foods. A cast-iron skillet can be used on a regular stove, camp stove or open flame.
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| Degerminated cornmeal for long term food storage |
What Kind of Cornmeal Should You Keep?
For regular pantry storage, I like plain degerminated cornmeal. It generally stores better than whole-grain cornmeal because much of the oily germ has been removed.
I recently wrote a separate article about choosing cornmeal for food storage, how I store it and why I look for the word degerminated or degermed on the package.
What Is the Best Cornmeal for Long-Term Food Storage?
I prefer to store plain cornmeal rather than self-rising cornmeal. Plain cornmeal gives you more options. You can use it for johnny cakes, cornbread, cornmeal mush, breading and other simple recipes.
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| Just added room temp water - Off grid method |
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| Pan fry in your choice of oil. I drop spoon full into pan then press with spatula. Then flip over when browned. |
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| I added some honey to a few cakes. My favorite! |
A Little History Behind Johnny Cakes
Johnny cakes have been made in America for generations. The exact recipes changed from place to place. Some versions were very simple. Others included milk, sugar, eggs or other ingredients.
Corn was an important food in North America long before European settlement. Indigenous peoples had been growing and preparing maize for thousands of years.
As corn became part of colonial cooking, simple cornmeal breads became common in many areas. Johnny cakes became especially associated with New England and Rhode Island.
By the late 1700s, johnny cakes were appearing in American cookbooks. Cornmeal was filling and could be turned into bread without a complicated baking process.
Simple corn breads also became important in other parts of the country. During difficult times, including war and frontier life, people often relied on cornmeal when wheat flour was not readily available.
That is one reason there are so many names for old cornmeal breads. You may see terms such as johnny cakes, hoecakes, corn pone or corn dodgers. They were not always exactly the same recipe, but they came from the same practical idea: use the grain you have and turn it into food.
Johnny Cakes Are Different From Hardtack
Hardtack is meant to be dried and stored. Johnny cakes are not.
I would not make a large batch of johnny cakes and try to keep them for months. Instead, I would store the cornmeal and make the cakes when I needed them.
That is what makes this recipe useful for preparedness. You are storing the ingredient, not the finished bread. When you are ready to eat, add water and cook.
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| Instant cornbread in a pinch! |
Why I Like Recipes Like This
I do not expect to cook every meal like someone living two hundred years ago. But I like knowing what I can make from a few basic ingredients.
Best of all, during a grid down, this meal is easy to toss together. Just let cornmeal sit in water to soften - then plop in hot skillet or over an open flame in iron skillet. (the term, Hoe Cakes came from the idea people used the flat back of a hoe to heat these cakes over an open fire)
