Cornbread makes a great snack, and it goes super well with chili. This buttery and fluffy goodness is sweet, but you can get creative and add a few savory ingredients, such as bacon or grated cheese. Rest assured that everyone at home will ask for more. So, gather your ingredients, and let’s bake!
What Is Cornbread?
Cornbread is typically made of cornmeal, milk, eggs, butter, sweetener, and baking soda. You simply combine everything and bake until golden brown. It’s easy to make as it doesn’t contain yeast. Of course, different regions have different ways of making cornbread.
Northern style and Southern style are the two most popular ways of baking cornbread. In the South, they don’t use as much sugar but are very generous with the cornmeal. It gives the bread a more crumbly and less sugary texture. In the North, it’s the exact opposite. They go heavy on the sugar and flour, making the cornbread sweeter and thicker. So, it depends on your flavor and texture preferences.
The Ultimate Cornbread Recipe
The recipe we’ll share offers the perfect combination of both sweet and crumbly cornbread. Invite some guests over and bake everything just a few minutes before they arrive. Throw in some herbs and red pepper as well for extra color. Here’s what you’ll need:
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups cornmeal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Directions:
- Start by preheating your oven to 400°F and spray some cooking spray on your baking pan of choice. Mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, add the eggs, buttermilk, and butter and whisk again until everything is well combined. Pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until you insert a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let the cornbread cool in the pan for 10 more minutes. Then, transfer it to a rack and cut it into squares once it cools completely.
- An extra tip: If you want to make pepper jack scallion cornbread, you can add a cup of shredded Pepper Jack cheese and 2 chopped scallions to the batter. Also, if you’re not going to serve the cornbread immediately, cover it with a clean tea towel. This way, it will remain moist and warm.