Anne Byrn’s Baking Journey Through the American South

Luscious layer cakes laced with silky icing, deep dish fruit pies and cobblers, peanut and pecan pies, flaky biscuits, and sweet and savory corn breads- these are just some of the much-loved baked dishes of the American South.

Native southerner and best-selling New York Times cookbook author, Anne Byrn, documents baking traditions, anecdotes and gathered recipes from fourteen southern states for her new book, “Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories.” (Harper Celebrates”) accented with mouth-watering images by Photographer Rinne Allen

 

The American South starts below the Mason-Dixon line in Maryland and stretches down to Louisiana and Florida, east to the Chesapeake Bay and Low Country and west to Texas. It’s a patchwork quilt of history, multi-cultural heritages, family traditions, religions, politics and colorful characters, from artists and authors to musicians and music styles (think, blues. Jazz, bluegrass, country and southern rock).

Storytelling is also a southern tradition. Throughout “Baking in the American South,” Byrn shares stories about the people and traditions behind specific recipes. Many pies, breads and cakes were made by southern women who sold their baked goods at church gatherings and hair salons to earn extra money for household expenses. There are also the charity events, weddings, christenings and funerals where dishes filled long tables. Reading the stories is a delight even if you don’t try out a recipe.

As for recipes, they are extensive. Who would imagine so many versions of biscuits and cornbread could be made, but they can. Baking is a science as much as technique. Byrn documents when and how to use specific ingredients (e.g. lard vs. butter vs. oil vs. vegetable shortening) and to how to manipulate dough and batter for each bread, pie crust and cake.

 

Byrn learned to bake as a child alongside her mother, Bebe. For fifteen years she worked as food editor at the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. She is author of the “Cake Mix Doctor,” one of Southern Living magazines top 100 cookbooks of all times, as well as “American Cake” and “Skillet Love.” She writes a weekly newsletter called “Between the Layers” on Substack.

 

Anne Byrn shared her story and some of her baking tips on The Connected Table LIVE. Here is a link to the podcast.

Photo Credits (dishes)
Taken from Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories by Anne Byrn.  Copyright © 2024 by Anne Byrn. Photographs © 2024 by Rinne Allen.  Used by permission of Harper Celebrate.

 

What to sip with dessert?

Sweet wines are frequently labeled “dessert wines,” but there are classic savory pairings like foie gras and Sauternes, ruby Port and Stilton cheese and spicy Szechuan dishes with Moscato d’Asti. Whether it’s a Vin Doux from France, ice wine from New York State, Vin Santo from Tuscany, Recioto from Valpolicella, Pedro Ximénez from Spain or ruby Port from Portugal, there are many sweet wines to try. Don’t wait for a special occasion to open a bottle.

As we are preparing for a September trip to Sicily, we are sharing one of our favorite sweet wines from this area.  Donnafugata Ben Ryé is a Passito di Pantelleria and one of most popular desserts wines in the world. Produced by the esteemed Rallo family, who own five wine estates in Sicily, Donnafugata is an Arabic term for “Son of the Wind,” alluding to the winds that sweep throughout the island of Pantelleria, located between Sicily and Africa.

This golden colored wine is a jewel on its own with sensuous aromas and flavors of apricot, honey and candied orange peel. Residual sugar 192 g/l.  Sip alone or with a slice of Georgia Peach Pound Cake (page 329) or Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Caramel Satsuma (page 213) or Mrs. Collins’ Sweet Potato Cake (page  346- see photo below)  from Anne Byrn’s” Baking in the American South.”