Authentic Cornbread Recipe United States of America, North America
JUMP TO RECIPEWe strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
Mainly associated with the South, in its simplest and most traditional form cornbread — also known as corn pone — is made from cornmeal, salt, and water batter and is baked in a cast iron skillet over an open fire. Today, there is a general divide on how cornbread is prepared depending on where you are in the United States. In the South, the batter is prepared with white cornmeal, sometimes buttermilk, and little to no sugar, while in the North they will use yellow cornmeal, and add wheat flour, eggs, milk or buttermilk, a leavening agent, and some sugar, which gives for a sweeter, more cake-like cornbread. The most popular way to cook cornbread, however, is to skillet-bake it, meaning the prepared batter is poured into a hot, greased cast-iron skillet and then baked until the cornbread is lightly brown. Albeit, cornbread, and its many derivatives — hush puppies, johnnycakes, and spoon bread — can also be baked, fried, or steamed, depending on the recipe. This ... Read more
Serve With
Cooking tips
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flour
The main difference between white and yellow cornmeal is that the latter is less sweet, hence cornbread prepared with it will require additional sugar. Also, the flavor is different if you’re using coarsely, medium or fine ground cornmeal — the finer cornmeal is ground, the sweeter it is. When a recipe calls for white cornmeal, no other kinds of flour are required, while if cornbread is made with ... Read more -
method
As with any quick bread, the liquid ingredients are added to the dry ones, and the batter should not be overmixed. When skillet-baking cornbread, it is important that you use a cast iron skillet that’s been previously heated in the oven. Pouring batter into hot grease or butter will produce a lovely crust on the sides of the cornbread. Also, some recipes suggest you brown the butter in the skillet ... Read more -
leaveners
Because baking powder or baking soda are usually used for leavening, cornbread is considered a quick bread, meaning it does not require time to prove. In case a recipe calls for buttermilk, both baking powder, and baking soda should be used. However, cornbread can also be a yeast-raised bread, albeit that is a less traditional approach. -
additional ingredients
The basic cornbread recipe can be enriched by adding ingredients such as jalapeño pepper, walnuts, onions and chilis, cranberries, figs, and various cheeses. -
serving
As it cools, cornbread will lose its texture more and more; hence it should always be eaten fresh. It typically served as a side, but can also be eaten topped only with butter, honey, or molasses.
Recipe variations
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Sweetened Cornbread
Ready in 50minAccessed via www.CharlotteObserver.com, this recipe is adapted from Real Southern Cook In Her Savannah Kitchen by Dora Charles. This cornbread is sweeter and lighter when compared to its traditional counterpart, and if you’d like you can enrichen it by adding crumbles of bacon leftover from rendering.
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Unsweetened, Southern-Style Cornbread
Ready in 1h 5minAdapted from SeriousEats.com, this recipe is for the unsweetened, Southern-style version of cornbread. For this recipe, you will need a 12-inch cast iron skillet and high-quality stone-ground cornmeal. You should only add sugar if you're using mass-market cornmeal.
Sweetened Cornbread
PREP 20min
COOK 30min
READY IN 50min
Accessed via www.CharlotteObserver.com, this recipe is adapted from Real Southern Cook In Her Savannah Kitchen by Dora Charles. This cornbread is sweeter and lighter when compared to its traditional counterpart, and if you’d like you can enrichen it by adding crumbles of bacon leftover from rendering.
Ingredients
Sweetened Cornbread
4 slices bacon (more if it’s very lean)
2 cups white cornmeal
1 cup self-rising flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup water
2 large eggs
2 tbsp butter
Preparation
Sweetened Cornbread
First, set the oven to preheat to 350 °F and place the rack in upper and lower positions. Then, in an 8- or 9-inch cast-iron skillet, cook the bacon until all the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp. Pour the rendered fat into a heat-proof glass measuring cup, as you will need a 1/3 cup. In case you there is less fat than necessary, cook more bacon. As for bacon, you can use it for something else, or crumble it and add it to the cornbread.
Now, place the skillet in the oven while you prepare the batter.
Add cornmeal, flour, and sugar to a large bowl and whisk with a wooden spoon until combined. Next, pour in the buttermilk and water and stir well, then add the eggs and mix well, so everything is incorporated.
Put two tablespoons of bacon fat to the hot skillet and swirl it, so the bottom and the sides of the pan are coated. Pour the remaining bacon fat into the batter and mix.
Scrape the batter into the hot skillet, smooth out the top, and place in the oven on a lower rack to bake for 20 minutes until it just sets. Then, transfer the skillet to the top rack and bake for 5-10 minutes, or the cornbread has cracks on the surface of it and is lightly brown.
Take the cornbread out of the oven and coat it generously with butter. For serving, cut up into wedges and serve while still hot.
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