After posting the recipe for a lighter Northern cornbread, I got some feedback I wasn’t expecting. Namely, from readers informing me that cornbread wasn’t made with flour, only cornmeal.
What?
I mean. WHAT?!
How could this possibly be? Mom made her cornbread with whole wheat flour. Every cornbread recipe I’ve ever seen includes flour. Why have I never heard of cornmeal-only cornbread?!
I scoured the internet for a cornmeal-only recipe, and came up empty. I consulted a friend in Kentucky who told me that cornmeal-only cornbread is a Southern thing (and she also told me I had to use buttermilk) so I searched for “Southern cornbread.” Every recipe had flour. So I searched for “buttermilk Southern cornbread.” All had flour. Desperate, I just did a generic “cornbread” search and yielded the same results. The only difference in the vast amount of recipes was the amount of cornmeal and flour, the type of milk used, and whether or not there was sugar added.
I remembered that my cornmeal sack had a cornbread recipe on the back so I consulted that. Score! It was called “Homestead Cornbread” and only called for cornmeal, but it called for regular milk and Carla had specifically told me I had to use buttermilk. She also insisted I top it with real butter. Carla is from the South and she knows what she’s talkin’ ’bout so I decided I’d better come up with my own recipe (and top it with real butter) to make her happy.
You know southern women. They’re all charming and “bless your heart!”…until you try to serve them sweet cornbread with whipped honey butter and then the fangs come out! Or so I imagine, based upon how heated the North & South cornbread debate can get. ;)
*Disclaimer: I apologize to any Southern women reading this. I was totally only saying that to amuse the Northerners. Please don’t bite me!
So I got to work and made us a big ‘ol mess of beans (I’m trying to talk like Paula Deen since I’m doing the whole Southern cornbread thang here), because that’s just what you eat with cornbread (or am I wrong about this too?), and baked up my version of REAL southern cornbread.
Until I made this, I was convinced that the sweetened, moist stuff I’d been making lately was an abomination and I should be ashamed of myself for stooping so low as to make something that you didn’t have to drown in butter to keep from choking down. That’s just how cornbread was supposed to be. Dry and unsweet. But now I can officially say (my apologies to the Southern folks) that I’m a true Northern cornbread convert.
Now, this stuff is wonderful if you do indeed slather it with a generous amount of (real) butter, and even better with some honey (I guess I missed the sweetness), but without them it is a little dry and crumbly. What do you expect? There’s no flour in it! But if you were raised on this kind of cornbread, and are looking for a recipe and discovered them hard to find, I’m going to include it here for you because I realize that folks are loyal (except in my case, apparently) to the foods they were raised on. And this one is especially good for crumbling over your beans, which means you can get your cornbread and beans in every bite! I love that. Oh, oh, oh! This one would also be superb for making cornbread stuffing. Mmmm….is it too early to start planning Thanksgiving dinner?
Homestead Cornbread
Printable recipe
Printable recipe with picture
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder (such as Rumford)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs (unbeaten)
2 tablespoons canola oil
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine dry ingredients. Add milk, egg, and oil and mix well. Pour into well-greased 8-inch square pan (the batter will come up high but don’t worry, it doesn’t rise much) and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cut into rows of 4×3 to make 12 squares.
Per serving: 120 calories; 4.2 g fat; 17.4 g carb; 1.5 g fiber; 3.7 g protein
*Veronica’s notes: it’s important to use aluminum-free baking powder in recipes calling for more than a teaspoon, otherwise you will get an unpleasant metallic aftertaste. If I were to make this again, I’d bump up the oil to 1/4 cup to make it a little more moist. To make this with regular milk, use 5 teaspoons of baking powder and omit the baking soda.
Recipe source: adapted from the back of a Shawnee Best yellow cornmeal sack.
I learned to cook from my first mother-in-law who was born and raised in Brewton Alabama. She made THE best cornbread (and buttermilk biscuits) I have ever tasted. She did use a very little flour in her cornbread but it was like less than half a cup.
I noticed that you said to pour your batter into a well greased pan….if you want authentic southern bread, this is what you do.
Add about 1/4 c bacon grease to a cast iron skillet. Put it in the oven and let it melt and get pretty hot. Take it out carefully and pour the batter in….the melted bacon grease will come up the sides of the skillet and you take a spoon and drizzle that melted grease all over the top of the batter. When this bakes, the top will have a nice crust and so will the bottom. Absolutely the best thing you can eat ham and beans or just with butter and syrup on it!
Wow, that sounds amazing! Thanks for the tip. :)
You are cracking me up girl! I don’t know what I like more, your post or the fantastic pics! I make cornbread for our chili, have to admit, like it a bit sweet and with a bit of flour, but the above comment about cooking in the cast iron skillet with bacon grease sounds authentic! Hats off to the Southern girl that resides in you…Happy Cookin!
Lol! I love the Paula Deen “accent”! ;P This sounds awesome. I too, make cornbread w/ chili. Derek has been bugging me for chili, so it looks like I’ll be making this to go with it. I will though, try the cast iron pan and the bacon grease as Carol suggests…that sounds heavenly!! :)
Suzie…I made this recipe last night and did it in my old cast iron skillet with about two tablespoons of bacon grease melted in it first. AHHH MAZING!!!
Crisp top and bottom but with a flavor that is out of this world.
LOVE IT! I will be sure to try it this way next time I make it. I just need to get a cast iron skillet.
As a Northerner, I am totally amused! Thanks for the hilarious post. =)
I also make ”southern cornbread” even though i am from the north, and use just cornmeal and the bacon grease in the skillet. It is something i just make don’t use an exact recipe. I just pour some cornmeal in the bowl add a couple eggs a spoon of sugar enough milk to mix and also do the bacon grease thing and have been known to add a drizzle into the batter. It has always turned out good. Now i am going to have to try cornbread with flour. I suppose i will not have a problem finding a good recipe as you say they are everywhere. Thanks for putting it in my mind to think of it in a new way. I always enjoy your post.
IMHO, this one is the best northern cornbread (and without being boastful, mine is very very good as well): http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2009/08/the-cornbread-and-fluffy-honey-butter.html
Hilarious!!!!! That piece with the melty butter is calling my name. :)
Me again. :) To answer your question: I LOVE hummus mixed with balsamic vinegar as a salad dressing. You should try it!!
Just tried this cornbread last night and it was amazing! Tasted just like my first mother-in-law’s cornbread and I had never eaten any as good until last night. I emailed the recipe to about six people and called my ex sister-in-law to share this. Thank you so much!
Aw, thank you for letting me know! And thanks for helping the recipe achieve a more authentic quality by making it in a cast iron skillet with bacon grease. I’m def going to do that next time! You are so sweet.
Your description of Southern women cracks me up! :D
I always make cornbread from the krusteaz mix from the grocery store. :< I'm too lazy to buy cornmeal. My sister has a light and sweet cornbread recipe I posted on my blog for her, and I have received feedback that it is great from readers, but God help me, I can't muster the energy to make it from scratch.
I did once see a recipe for cakey cornbread that was a mash up of two mixes, a (yellow I'm assuming) cake mix and a cornbread mix.
I dunno. I love cornbread. I don't enjoy making it. :) That all being said, this looks delicious, especially with a big slather of butter and honey on top.
Thank you for the recipe. I will try this out.
I couldn’t remember which brand of cornmeal had “my” cornbread recipe on the package, and a google search found yours instead. I was raised on sweet, cake-like cornbread, but married a boy whose mom was a great southern cook. I agree with those who say make it in cast iron, but a real southern cornbread aficionado will own a set of corn-stick pans. These are cast iron, and have wells shaped like ears of corn. The method is the same as for the cast iron pan, but the cornsticks cook for a shorter time since they are smaller. Their crunchy goodness is a completely different taste from the northern cake-style cornbread. My hubby likes molasses or sorghum with cornbread.
My Dad had one of those pans, but he had it to sell and we never used it. I thought it was so cool! I’m glad you found me on your quest to find the recipe. :)
Hey Veronica, I just found your blog a couple weeks ago and I love it. This recipe was perfect in helping me create a gluten-free cornbread stuffing. Thanks so much. http://www.smallwalletbigappetite.com/2011/11/gluten-free-cornbread-stuffing.html
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Thank you for the recipe! I lost the one I had copied from my cornmeal bag and figured I could find a hundred on the internet. How wrong I was, yours was the one I was looking for. Of course, I do cook mine in a cast iron skillet with bacon grease instead of oil. Yum!
Yay, so glad I could help! Yup, I finally got myself a cast iron skillet so that’s how I’ll be making it next time. :)
Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting this out there for all of us that like simple flour free recipes!
~Peace From Here