Perfect Homemade Cornbread (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between cornbread and Southern cornbread? ›

She notes that Northern cornbread is sweeter, lighter, and more cake-like than Southern cornbread. Not surprisingly, it includes sugar (or molasses, in the earlier centuries), unlike traditional Southern cornbread.

By letting the cornbread batter sit at room temperature before baking, the cornmeal has some extra time to absorb the flavor from the other ingredients, and the baking powder gets a head start. I love using my cast-iron skillet for cornbread and preheat it before adding my batter.

While oil can make cakes and quick breads luxuriously tender, I find the cornbread lacks flavor if butter isn't present. Because butter doesn't make the bread as moist as oil does, I pair it with buttermilk. Buttermilk: Buttermilk makes cakes, muffins, and breads extra moist.

The most common theory is a change in cornmeal itself. Until early in the 20th century, Southern cornmeal was made with sweeter white corn and it was water-ground. When industrial milling came along, that changed. The steel-roller mills used yellow corn that was harvested before it was ripe, so it had less sugar.

As for the best cornmeal for cornbread, either fine- or medium-grind cornmeal is a great choice. Medium-grind cornmeal will bring slightly more texture and grittiness to the batter, which you may or may not want (it's up to you!). You can use fine or medium cornmeal in these extra corny muffins.

Heat the oven to 400°F. Spray the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan or 9-inch round cake pan with the cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat the melted butter, milk and egg with a fork or wire whisk until well mixed.

The consistency of the batter should be a bit like pancake batter—a little on the thin side. Thick batter can result in dry texture and cornbread that crumbles easily after baking. If you feel your batter is too thick, simply add a splash of extra milk.

Many traditional cornbread recipes call for bacon grease, shortening, or lard. It can add a delicious flavor, but it can also cause your cornbread to separate during baking. Try cutting your proportion of grease or fat by about a third. Replace white sugar with a moist sweetener.

I've used both before and it normally turns out good either way. If you don't want to use water though some other milk substitutes are usually other dairy products like yogurt, sour cream, or half and half. For cornbread though water is probably best.

Moist: No one likes dry and crumbly cornbread, and thanks to the buttermilk this cornbread is moist and cake-like. Versatile: Use this recipe to make cornbread muffins, or try my other cornbread variations, like skillet cornbread and jalapeño cornbread!

Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable for cornbread? ›

Olive oil can be substituted for vegetable oil or butter in any recipe. After creating our Little House inspired olive oil cake, we decided to try olive oil in cornbread. This recipe is a hit! This cornbread is sweet, moist and with the help of a pre-heated cast iron pan, crispy on the edges.

Cornbread is known for being dry, and that's because it's not properly hydrated. This can lead to unpleasant. hard bits that get stuck in your teeth, making the final product taste even drier. Start by soaking your cornmeal and buttermilk overnight. or up to 24 hours.

LET the batter sit for 15-20 minutes before baking. This allows the baking powder to activate and incorporate more air.

Hot water cornbread

This type of cornbread is often known as "hot water" or "scald meal" cornbread and is unique to the American South.

Real, traditional, Southern-style cornbread is savory, not sweet, and always has been.

The only substantial difference between white cornmeal and yellow cornmeal is right there in the names: their colors. The two varieties get their hues from nothing more than the different colors of the kernels of corn from which they are ground.

Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal that may or may not contain sugar and is usually baked in a skillet, pan, or into sticks. Corn muffins are baked in muffin tins and contain cornmeal and generous amounts of sugar; most are more cake-like in texture.