I’ve made a lot of cornbread. I’m a fan. But when a random Google search landed me on this recipe from Bless This Mess Please, there was no need to keep recipe testing; to keep trying to up my cornbread game. I found my perfect version. And as close to 150 thousand people have "hearted" her recipe, clearly, I'm not alone.
Print
Classic Cornbread
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8-10 1x
- Category: Quick Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This cornbread is so wonderfully tender, it's best smeared with softened butter.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal (156 g)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 g)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (133 g)
- 3 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp fine-grain salt (like table or sea salt)
- 1 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted (76 g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Butter a 9-inch round cake pan (see Notes).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk, egg, and melted butter. Quickly stir everything together until just a few lumps remain.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the top is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
- This recipe can be made in a 9-inch round cake pan, 9-inch square baking dish, or a 9-inch cast iron skillet.
- No gourmet, textured cornmeal needed for this recipe. I'm talking the fine-grain, Quaker-brand cornmeal works best here.
- Technically, the milk doesn't have to be whole milk (i.e. you could use 2%), but the additional fat creates a cornbread with a richer taste and softer crumb.
- If you prefer buttermilk in your cornbread, the general rule is to use 2 teaspoons less baking powder and ½ teaspoon more baking soda. So for this recipe, you'd use 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon baking soda with 1 cup buttermilk.
- It's always fun to play with a cornbread recipe you love. Some of my favorite add-ins are: 1 seeded & minced jalapeño, 1 cup freshly-grated cheese (sharp cheddar or pepper jack are fun), 1 cup (frozen) corn kernels. What do you love to add to your cornbread???
- Recipe just barely adapted from Melissa Griffiths' blog, Bless This Mess Please.
Keywords: cornbread recipes, easy cornbread recipes, the best cornbread recipe, southern cooking, southern baking, thanksgiving recipes, tender cornbread