Johnny Cakes Are Hot Item At First Baptist's May Breakfast

The people of First Baptist Church of East Greenwich don't fool around when it comes to serving May breakfast. It's a huge operation – 600 people showed up Saturday for scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, baked beans, muffins, juice, coffee, all different kinds of pies ... and johnny cakes. 

The johnny cakes are legend, not just because they taste so darn good, but because they are made from corn grown and milled right here in East Greenwich. Longtime parishioner and dairy farmer Rodney Bailey does the growing and the milling. On May breakfast Saturday, Rodney's daughter Cynthia LePrise was mixing up the batter. 

It's surprising uncomplicated. In a bowl with what looked like around 8 cups of cornmeal, LePrise added about 1 tablespoon of sugar, a teaspoon or so of salt and then stirred in a pitcher full of boiling water. The boiling water cooks the cornmeal, she said. Finally, she adds milk. The result? A thick batter that needs to cook several minutes on each side.

Watching the process, you can imagine the "journey cakes" of old, from which many believe the name johnny cake comes. These are not your typical pancakes. They are substantial. You can imagine wrapping a couple of them up to slip into your pocket while you travel. 

"My father will say this is what you ate every day," said LaPrise about Rodney Bailey. "His mother would make them in the morning and he’d take them to school in his lunch pail. It was a staple."

Among those helping at the johnny cake station Saturday was Maggie LaPrise, Cynthia's daughter, Rodney (and Judy's) granddaughter. She was on one of the two griddles, where she was learning, among other things, that it takes patience and a fair bit of butter to make a good johnny cake. For Cynthia, that's what the May Breakfast tradition was all about.

“The generations go by and we’re all teaching the next generation," she said. "It’s a tradition.”