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1
Lay bacon on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Put in a cold oven and preheat oven to 425 F. Set a timer for 15 minutes and leave the bacon in the oven until the timer goes off. Then remove bacon from the oven, but keep the oven on 425 F. Set bacon aside to cool. When cooled, remove it from the pan and chop into small pieces.
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2
Spray a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray and set aside. You can also use a (9-10 inch) round cake pan if you don't have a skillet!
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3
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, pepper and baking soda. Add the cold butter and, using your fingers or a pastry cutter, break the butter down until it's coarse and crumbly.
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4
In a small bowl, whisk the egg and buttermilk together. Add this into the dry ingredients. Stir with a big spoon, working to moisten evenly (but don't overmix). Add bacon, corn, cheese and cayenne and stir briefly. Gently knead dough a few times in the bowl until it just comes together. Iit will still be pretty shaggy but that's just fine. You don't want to over-knead or mix or your bread will be tough.
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5
Transfer dough into the skillet and press gently to cover the bottom. Using a knife, mark an inch-deep X into the top of the dough. Brush the top generously with buttermilk and top with black pepper.
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6
Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove skillet from the oven and set on a rack.
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7
Let bread rest for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve warm with butter.
