Buttermilk Cornbread
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So easy! No mixer needed here! Amazingly moist and slightly sweet. A classic side dish loved by EVERYONE. Serve with butter. SO GOOD.
Featured Comment
This side dish is such an underrated side. It’s sometimes overlooked. Kind of seen as just a filler perhaps?
Except it’s not. It’s absolutely not. It’s the best kind of southern cornbread one can ask for.
It’s perfectly fluffy, moist, and slightly sweet, and IT IS DANGEROUSLY GOOD, particularly with extra butter on top, melting right into the warm bread with a drizzle of honey. It’s perfection to say the least.
tips and tricks for success
- Preheat the cast iron skillet first. Using a preheated cast iron skillet is key here. This allows for even cooking, achieving everyone’s favorited golden brown crispy edges. You can also serve the cornbread warm right in the skillet.
- Use buttermilk. While adding a slightly tangy flavor, buttermilk is a key ingredient here yielding light, moist and fluffier cornbread. Using milk will lead to more neutral flavors and a drier consistency. You can also make a buttermilk substitute using milk, adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.
- Use fine or medium-ground cornmeal. Dependent on personal preference, fine or medium-ground cornmeal are typically the most popular options for cornbread. For a more smooth consistency, fine-ground cornmeal is ideal, but for more texture and grittiness, medium-ground is the way to go.
- Do not use cornbread mix. Cornbread mix is not the same as cornmeal. Cornbread mix comes pre-mixed with leavening agents.
- Avoid overmixing. Using a rubber spatula, stir the batter just until everything is just combined and moistened with a few lumps here and there. Overmixing will lead to dense, tough cornbread.
- Freeze as needed. Cornbread freezes very well and can typically last up to 3 months in the freezer.
what to serve with cornbread
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Buttermilk Cornbread: Frequently Asked Questions
A quick and easy buttermilk substitute is creating your own buttermilk with whole milk and something acidic such as lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.
You can add 1 tablespoon acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to 1 cup milk, letting it stand for 5-10 minutes.
Cornbread can be made 1-2 days in advance, reheating in the oven at 350 degrees F, covered, for about 5-10 minutes, or until warmed.
Yes! Once cooled completely, portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating at 350°F (covered in foil) until heated through.
You can make one of our favorite cornbread stuffings, a holiday staple.
Buttermilk Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups reduced fat buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a large cast iron skillet in the oven.
- In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg and 3 tablespoons butter. Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.
- Remove skillet from the oven and add remaining 3 tablespoons until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Working carefully, immediately scoop the batter into the hot skillet. Place into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes.
- Serve warm.
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We’ve made this cornbread using yogurt milk, which is a bit like really good buttermilk. I’ve also made it with buttermilk and “split” milk but to me, the yogurt milk is best…tangy and moist
Ohhhh you could add about 1/2 cup of whole kernel corn to the batter! So going to try this!
Can you substitute the sugar with honey?
Hi!, Chunguh –
This recipe reminds me of a similar cornbread I made years ago when I was a bride of a Georgia ‘boy’.
My in-laws briefed me on the correct way to make it.
No egg, no baking powder and definitely no sugar!
Baking in the hot iron skillet makes the cornbread crispy. Add a sprinkle of garlic salt to the dry ingredients.
You can also use bacon drippings instead of the butter.
Your recipe is ‘Yankee Cornbread’; mine is more like typical ‘Southern Cornbread’.
It’s just wonderful baked in the iron skillet. I was told that adding sugar and baking in a brownie pan makes it
more cake-light and fluffy which is not Southern; thin and in the skillet is Southern. Definitely use the buttermilk and if you
don’t have ‘real’ buttermilk, you can fake it with a cup of milk with 1 Tbsp of lemon juice. Set aside for
a few minutes til it ‘curdle’s. Then add to the rest of the wet ingredients.
Enjoy.
Thanks!
I love this recipe. I don’t like the dry, crispy, dry, crunchy Southern Cornbread. I use 2/3 powdered sugar in mine. Probably the same as the 1/3 cup sugar, just fluffy. We add a bit of colored corn polenta and sometimes a bit of corn. To make it savory, I add some mild green chilies. Melt cheddar on top when it comes out of the oven. (No maple syrup on this one!) Give it a try! Friends have said, I’ve never liked cornbread, it is so dry. This one is delicious.
Linda in Oregon
Hi! This looks absolutely fantastic. My favorite any time treat is cornbread! Can you make this in a regular circular cake pan? Thanks in advance!
Sure!
Can this be made in a muffin pan?
Absolutely!
did I miss the size of the iron skillet somewhere? will a 12″ one work?