Skillet biscuit bread is an easy, delicious southern bread that can round out a meal with minimal effort.

Learn how to make Appalachian pone bread in a cast-iron skillet with this traditional recipe. It’s a versatile side you can serve with breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

overhead view of a cast iron skillet of pone bread.

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Because a good stretch of the Appalachian mountains extends into the south, there’s a lot of overlap between cuisines.

Both regions are known for their resourcefulness–especially the ability to create a delicious, soul-warming meal out of practically nothing.

But being able to stretch a meager meal to feed several people and using the ingredients you have on hand didn’t mean you weren’t enjoying tasty food–in fact, just the opposite was true!

Growing up in southern Appalachia, I came to know and love many traditional Appalachian foods, including pone bread.

It’s essentially a large biscuit baked in a cast iron skillet, so it develops a perfect crust while maintaining a fluffy interior.

This is one of those sides that’s inexpensive to make, but helps to round out a meal and keep everyone full.

Not only that, but it’s easier than making traditional biscuits, since you don’t have to roll or cut any of the dough!

More Easy Appalachian Dishes:

a slice of skillet biscuit bread served on a white plate, with the remaining pone bread in the background, along with a jar of jam.

Homemade Skillet Pone Bread

Pone bread is sometimes known by other names, including skillet biscuit bread or gravy bread.

I’ve also heard people refer to pone bread as a hoe cake, but where I grew up, a hoe cake was more like cornbread pancakes.

You may have heard of a corn pone, which is a type of skillet cornbread.

In this case, pone bread is basically a large, round biscuit baked in a skillet. You can cut it into squares or wedges to serve.

I like to top slices with butter, jam, preserves, honey, or molasses! It’s one of my favorite biscuit recipes, because it’s so simple to make.

You can serve it for breakfast, just as you would biscuits, or alongside soups, stews, or other main dishes.

It’s one of those sides that’s super simple, yet really tasty.

Condiments to Serve with Pone Bread:

overhead view of a slice of Appalachian pone bread, which is cut in half and topped with butter.

How to Make Southern Pone Bread

It’s really easy to make this biscuit bread.

Ingredients You’ll Need:

Self-Rising Flour
Butter
Buttermilk

overhead view of a skillet of pone bread, with one slice of the biscuit bread cut out and served on a white plate. Two forks and a jar of preserves are next to the bread.

How to Make It:

(Full printable recipe card is available below)

Melt butter in the skillet. To start, add a couple tablespoons of butter to a cast iron skillet.

While the oven is preheating, place the skillet in the oven to warm up and allow the butter to melt.

two photos; one shows two tablespoons of butter in a cast iron skillet; the other shows the butter melted in the skillet.

Cut in the fat. First, you’ll use a pastry blender or two forks to cut the butter into the flour.

You want the pieces to be the size of peas or smaller.

two photos; one shows grated butter added to self-rising flour in a mixing bowl; the other shows the butter cut into the flour.

Add buttermilk. Next, you’ll add the buttermilk an stir to combine. Make sure all of the flour is moistened well.

two photos; one shows milk and vinegar in a measuring cup to make buttermilk; the other shows soft biscuit dough for making pone bread.

Bake. Last, you’ll transfer the biscuit dough to the preheated skillet, gently pressing it evenly into the pan (be careful–the pan is hot!).

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden-brown.

Remove from oven and slice and serve warm, topping as desired with butter, jam, apple butter, honey, molasses, or gravy.

two photos; one shows biscuit dough pressed into a cast iron skillet; the other shows a freshly baked biscuit pone bread.

Notes and Adaptations:

I like to use butter in my pone bread, but you can use vegetable shortening or lard if you prefer. I grate the butter on a box grater to get it into small pieces, but you can also cut it with a knife.
You can make your own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 1/4 cup milk. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before using. You can also mix together 1/4 cup sour cream and 1 cup milk as a substitute.

overhead view of a cast iron skillet of southern biscuit bread

Recommended Equipment:

Yield: 12 Servings

Easy Pone Bread

Name: Easy Pone Bread
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 cups self-rising flour; 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter; 1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Pone bread is an easy skillet biscuit bread with southern roots. It's a simple way to round out a meal with an inexpensive yet delicious side dish!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup buttermilk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to a cast iron skillet and place it in the oven to allow the butter to melt while the skillet heats up.
Use a box grater to grate the remaining 1/2 cup of butter (or cut it into small pieces). Combine the butter with the flour in a medium mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut the butter into the flour until the pieces are about the size of peas.
Add buttermilk to the flour and butter, stirring with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated and no dry spots of flour remain.
Remove skillet from oven and swirl the melted butter to coat the bottom of the pan. Add biscuit dough to the pan, gently pressing it evenly into the pan (be careful--the pan is hot!).
Return the skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown and cooked through.
Remove from oven. Slice and serve warm, topping as desired.

Notes

I like to use butter in my pone bread, but you can use vegetable shortening or lard if you prefer. I grate the butter on a box grater to get it into small pieces, but you can also cut it with a knife.

You can make your own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 1/4 cup milk. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before using. You can also mix together 1/4 cup sour cream and 1 cup milk as a substitute.