Easy Classic Buttermilk Cornbread

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Easy Classic Buttermilk Cornbread, has a crisp golden crust a moist and fluffy center and a tender crumb. It’s a tried and true easy cornbread recipe only requiring a few ingredients, little steps, and ready in under 30 minutes – quick, easy and delicious! Perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas or year-round as the perfect side!

Easy Classic Buttermilk Cornbread

This recipe is so easy, with no mixer required, simple on hand ingredients, and ready in under 30 minutes. That’s not even the best part, it has a moist and fluffy center with a tender crumb and a golden brown crust – it’s literally just so good.

Now, let’s dial it back a bit. Living in Canada, cornbread is not as popular as it is for example in the southern states. My family and I would always take trips to Buffalo, NY stop at the Walmart nearest to the border and pick up a few boxes of the Jiffy brand cornbread mixes. We would make them, devour them, and be satisfied…until we made it from scratch ourselves! Classic recipes can often be intimidating because heck, they’re classic…and sometimes when you don’t know – you shy away from it. But this homemade cast iron skillet buttermilk cornbread recipe is so unbelievably easy and absolutely irresistible.

History of Cornbread & Northern vs. Southern Cornbread

The History of Cornbread

Now, it’s a well known fact that cornbread is a Southern American staple, but why is this? The answer is because corn was predominant amongst southern crops, it was the gold of the south, it was easy to grow and easy to prepare. Other crops like wheat and rye didn’t store well in the heat and humidity of the South, but corn did. Earlier on, there was no sugar in cornbread, and it was called Corn Pone, consisting of only cornmeal, water, maybe a dash of salt and baked over an open fire or in a hearth. As time progressed, ingredients like buttermilk, sugar, eggs, bacon fat, baking powder, baking soda, started to make its way into the recipe we know today. Cornbread was created out of a necessity, from ingredients that we plentiful at the time and has grown into the delicacy we know it as today.

Difference between Southern and Northern Cornbread

This recipe as opposed to Southern Cornbread is more on the sweeter, lighter side of the spectrum and more cake-like i.e. fluffy or like the Jiffy brand. You also don’t need to make this recipe in a cast iron skillet, a greased baking dish will do for Northern style cornbread. This Easy Classic Buttermilk Cornbread, recipe is a northern style cornbread with southern style techniques – melt “fat” in skillet, pout “fat” in batter, pour batter back into hot skillet.

Southern cornbread is more on the savoury side (often using bacon or animal fat in the recipe), less sweet, and uses a coarser grain of cornmeal. Baking in a screaming hot cast iron skillet is also the traditional cooking equipment used in Southern style cornbread. Traditionally, as mentioned above it omitted ingredients like eggs, milk and sugar however it has been adapted to incorporated some of these ingredients.

What to Serve Cornbread With

Cornbread has always been a favourite of mine. It goes so well with a variety of dishes but if you love southern food it’s a staple alongside classics like collard greens, beans, fried chicken, mac n’ cheese, sweet potato, candied yams and a glass of sweet tea.

You can also enjoy cornbread alongside other classics like chili’s, soups, stews, BBQ, meats, literally just about anything.

How to Make Easy Classic Buttermilk Cornbread From Scratch

1. Mix the batter – In a large mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together. Then mix in the wet ingredients just until combined.

1. Get the Cast Iron Skillet Sizzling Hot – Melt the butter in your cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on your stove. This helps to create a perfect golden brown crispy exterior . Make sure you hear the batter sizzle in cast iron skillet when you pour it in – there’s nothing like it!
2. Bake the Cornbread – Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until golden brown on top, around the edges and toothpick comes out clean when inserted directly in the middle.

How to Make Buttermilk from Scratch

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make it yourself at home using milk and lemon juice or vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of room temperature milk. Mix together and let sit for 5 minutes. This will allow the milk to slightly curdle, and give it a more buttermilk-like texture and taste.

Watch this Cornbread Video Crumb Shot

Cornbread Cooking Tips

• Make sure your skillet is screaming red hot before you pour in your batter, it should sizzle.
• Whisk dry ingredients together for about a minute or so to remove any lumps which helps create a smooth batter and even fluffy texture.
• If you prefer a denser cornbread, omit the 1/2 tsp of baking soda. This helps to make the cornbread slightly more fluffy and cake-like rather than crumbly.
• Do not overmix your batter. This can lead to a “tougher” textured cornbread. When adding wet ingredients to dry, mix until just combined.
• Allow to cool for a few minutes before slicing.

Grab the Grocery List (Screenshot The Below)!

Salted Butter
All-Purpose Flour
Fine Yellow Cornmeal
Granulated White Sugar
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Salt
Eggs
Pure Honey
Buttermilk

Equipment

9 inch Cast Iron Skillet or Square Baking Dish

Recipes to Try with this Easy Classic Buttermilk Cornbread

The Best Apple Butter BBQ Ribs, Easy Garlic Butter Steak Bites, & Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken

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Easy Classic Buttermilk Cornbread

Taneisha Morris

Easy Classic Buttermilk Cornbread, has a crisp golden crust a moist and fluffy center and a tender crumb. It’s a tried and true easy cornbread recipe only requiring a few ingredients, little steps, and ready in under 30 minutes – quick, easy and delicious! Perfect for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas or year-round as the perfect side!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Sides, Thanksgiving

Cuisine American

Servings 5 servings

Calories 466 kcal

Hands Free Mode:Prevent your screen from sleeping

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1/2 cup Salted Butter melted
• 1 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 cup Fine Yellow Cornmeal
• 1/4 cup Granulated White Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Pure Honey more for drizzle if desired
• 1 cup Buttermilk

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and place rack in the middle position.
• Heat unmelted butter in your 9-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat on stovetop until melted. Turn heat off, set aside and allow butter to cool slightly. Alternatively, you can use a 9-inch square baking dish. If so, grease with butter and place in oven to heat up.
• In a large mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients – flour, cornmeal, granulated white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Whisk together until thoroughly mixed together.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then add in eggs, honey, and buttermilk, mix until just incorporated. Then add melted butter. Pour batter into hot skillet (you should hear a nice sizzle as it hits the pan).
• Bake for 20-23 minutes, or until golden brown on top, around the edges and toothpick comes out clean when inserted directly in the middle. Allow to cool slightly before slicing, and enjoy!

Video

Recipe Notes

Overmixing – do not overmix your batter. This can lead to a “tougher” textured cornbread.

No Buttermilk – add 1 tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of room temperature milk. Mix together and let sit for 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 466kcalCarbohydrates: 66gProtein: 6gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 49mgSodium: 459mgPotassium: 144mgFiber: 4gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 567IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 2mg

Note, the nutritional information is calculated using a nutrition facts calculator. It is a rough estimate and can vary based on products used.

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