Johnny cake
The Bahamian pan bread: a slightly sweet, dense wheat loaf baked in a skillet or tin, split and buttered, served with stews and fried fish.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- Very easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Bahamian johnny cake is a baked bread, not a cornmeal griddle cake. Flour, baking powder, a little sugar and salt are rubbed with butter or shortening, brought together with milk into a soft dough, pressed into a greased skillet or round tin and baked until the top is pale gold and the inside is tight and slightly sweet. It is closer to a thick scone than to a loaf. Bahamians eat it in wedges with butter, dunk it in the gravy of a stew or boiled fish, or split it for a fish sandwich. The dough wants almost no kneading; overwork it and the crumb goes tough.
What you'll need
6 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour, plain, plus a little for the board400 g
- Baking powder15 ml
- Sugar, more if you like it sweet44 ml
- Salt4.9 ml
Choose one
Butter, cold, cubed, plus extra for the pan80 g- Milk, cold, or half milk half water220 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Heat the oven to 190°C. Butter a 23 cm cast-iron skillet or round cake tin.
2 min190°C
Step 2
Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs with a few pea-sized bits left.
5 min
Step 3
Pour in most of the milk and bring the dough together with a knife, then your hand, adding the rest of the milk only if it is dry. It should be soft and a little sticky. Knead on a floured board for 30 seconds, no more.
4 min
Watch: Kneading develops gluten. Johnny cake should be tender and tight, not chewy.
Step 4
Press the dough into the skillet to an even round about 3 cm thick. Prick the top all over with a fork and brush with a little milk.
3 min
Step 5
Bake 25 to 30 minutes until the top is pale gold and a skewer in the middle comes out clean. Rest 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out and cut in wedges.
30 min190°C
Tip: The bottom crust is the best part. A cast-iron pan gives you a better one than a tin.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 292 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 44.5 g
- Fat
- 9.6 g
- Saturated fat
- 5.8 g
- Fibre
- 1.4 g
- Sugar
- 6.6 g
- Sodium
- 257 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Milk
- Vegetarian
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Butter → Vegetable shortening or lard
The traditional fat. The crumb comes out whiter and softer and the flavour is plainer.
Milk → Water or thinned coconut milk
Water gives a leaner, chewier bread. Coconut milk is a Family Islands habit.
Tips
- The sugar is a matter of taste and of island. Three tablespoons is middling; Eleuthera cooks go higher.
- It is best warm the day it is baked. Tomorrow, split it and toast it in a dry pan with butter.
- For a stove-top version, cook it covered in a heavy skillet on the lowest heat, 15 minutes a side. Expect a darker crust and a slightly damper middle.
History & culture
Johnny cake sits beside souse and boiled fish at breakfast, next to conch stew at lunch, and in a foil packet at any gathering where someone's grandmother is cooking. In the Family Islands it was daily bread when flour came by mailboat and yeast did not keep. It is sold by the slab at bakeries and Fish Fry stalls and most people have a firm opinion about how sweet it should be.
The name is probably a corruption of journey cake, a durable flour-and-water bread carried by travellers and sailors across the British Atlantic. Cornmeal versions survive in the United States and parts of the Caribbean; the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos settled on wheat flour and baking powder once both were cheap imports in the late 19th century.
Traditional — Shortening or lard is the older fat and gives a whiter, softer crumb. Butter is written here for flavour. Some cooks finish the loaf on the stove top in a covered skillet rather than in the oven; the oven is more reliable.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Johnny cake take?
45 min all in — 15 min prep, 30 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 8 wedges. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Very easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Nut-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Frying pan, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
How much sugar?
3 tbsp (more if you like it sweet) of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Butter → Vegetable shortening or lard. The traditional fat. The crumb comes out whiter and softer and the flavour is plainer. Milk → Water or thinned coconut milk. Water gives a leaner, chewier bread. Coconut milk is a Family Islands habit.
What should I watch for?
Kneading develops gluten. Johnny cake should be tender and tight, not chewy.
Any tips from this recipe?
The sugar is a matter of taste and of island. Three tablespoons is middling; Eleuthera cooks go higher. It is best warm the day it is baked. Tomorrow, split it and toast it in a dry pan with butter. For a stove-top version, cook it covered in a heavy skillet on the lowest heat, 15 minutes a side. Expect a darker crust and a slightly damper middle.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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