Whisk the cornmeal, flour and salt together in a large bowl.
Whisk the egg, buttermilk and oil together in a small bowl, then stir into the dry ingredients to form a moist dough.
Cut a sheet of parchment paper and a sheet of waxed paper large enough to cover a standard baking sheet.
Turn the dough out onto the sheet of parchment paper and form it into a rough rectangle with your hands. Cover with the sheet of waxed paper and roll into a paper-thin sheet of dough with a rolling pin. If any dough starts to squeeze out from under the waxed paper, gather up the excess, place it back on an exposed corner of the parchment paper, and re-roll until you've maximized the space.
Peel the waxed paper off the dough and transfer the parchment paper to the baking sheet. Score the dough with a pizza or pastry cutter, marking a grid of ½-inch by 1 ½ inch strips. You don't have to separate each little cracker. They will break apart easily when they are fully baked.
Bake for 18-20 minutes. Transfer the parchment paper to a cooking rack and break the crackers apart as soon as they are cool enough to touch. Cool completely before serving.
Serve with your favorite dip.
Geography Activity
While cornbread is baking, discuss the fact that cornmeal was something early settlers may have carried with them on their journey to the west.
Discuss what kinds of landforms and climates settlers may have come across on their journey (mountain, plateau, desert, etc.)
Use cornmeal to create a desert scene on construction paper.
Students will smear a thin coat of glue, then sprinkle cornmeal on the glue.
Allow to dry..
Students will make rocks and cactus from construction paper or other medium (grass, leaves, pebbles, etc.)
