Note: Tommy Ryan credits the consistent excellence of Durgin-Park's corn bread to a women called "Cornbread Helen," who had worked in the kitchen for twenty-five years when he arrived in 1960. "She gave me the recipe, and I didn't change a thing," he says. "Although she used to make it in big stone crocks. Today we put the batter into baking pans to cook it." How does the batter get into the pans from the big vat in which it was made? Baker Martin Gonzales scoops it out with his hands and splashes it straight into the baking pan.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl mix the sugar and the beaten eggs. In a separate bowl sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Add the cornmeal, melted butter, and milk. Beat just enough to mix Pour into a 8x12x1/2-inch-deep baking pan. Bake for about 30 minutes. This makes one pan full, which cuts into 20 squares.

Makes 20 servings