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Suz’s Corn Bread
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My son asked me for my corn bread recipe and I realized I had never written anything down – I just make it! So this morning I had to make a batch of plain, ordinary corn bread so I could write down all the steps and quantities as a starting point. Now, normally I don’t make ‘plain’ corn bread since we like the savory kind with cheese & bacon & onions & peppers. I know others like the sweet corn bread better. So here’s the basic recipe, as well as the savory or sweet alternatives so you can make the type you like. Enjoy!
Note: The best pancakes, biscuits and corn bread are made with buttermilk, but not everyone has buttermilk available to them. You can make a good substitute by mixing either plain yogurt or sour cream with milk to get the right consistency and taste – usually 50/50. In a pinch, you can also stir 1 t. lemon juice into a cup of milk & let it sit for 5 minutes. Just make sure if you’re using buttermilk or one of these substitutes that you don’t forget to add the baking soda to balance the natural acidity!
Ingredients
1/8 C oil
1 C flour (white or whole wheat mix, or GF flour mix)
1 C corn meal
2 t baking powder
2 t sugar
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 C buttermilk (or yogurt/sour cream/milk combo)
1/4 C vegetable oil or melted margarine (cooled)
1 egg
(1/4 to 1/3 C additional milk to adjust consistency)
[Include any optional ingredients as per Instructions]
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Place 1/8 cup oil in 9×9 baking pan (I prefer glass/pyrex for baking) and place in the oven to heat while you mix the corn bread batter.
Dry ingredients: in a mixing bowl, combine to blend well:
1 C flour (white or whole wheat mix, or GF flour mix)
1 C corn meal
2 t baking powder
2 t sugar
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
Liquid ingredients: in a large measuring cup or bowl, stir together:
1 C buttermilk (or yogurt/sour cream/milk combo)
1/4 C vegetable oil or melted margarine (cooled)
1 egg
(1/4 to 1/3 C additional milk to adjust consistency)
Make space in the center of the dry mix and pour in the liquids. Stir well to combine. You will need to adjust the liquid by adding more milk to get the right consistency, which varies depending on the flour, corn meal and local humidity. You are aiming for a thick batter that can be spooned/scraped (not so thin it can be poured like pancake mix and not so thick that it can be shaped like biscuits).
Carefully remove hot baking dish from oven. Spoon/scrape batter into the hot pan, smoothing it evenly into corners. Return baking dish to oven.
Bake – 350F for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 325F for 20 min.
When done, remove the pan from oven and let it set for 10 minutes before slicing into squares or triangles to serve.
Options:
Sweet cornbread:
Increase sugar to 2 T. or use 2 T. honey
Drizzle honey over the top of the batter before cooking OR
Sprinkle with 1 t. sugar.
Serve with honey butter.
Cheesy cornbread (alone or combined with savory below):
Add 1/2 C grated cheddar or jack cheese to the batter.
Savory cornbread (my favorite to have with chili, black-eyed peas or pinto beans):
Add 1/2 garlic powder and 1/2 t black pepper to ingredients.
Saute 1-2 slices of bacon, diced, until crisp (omit for vegetarian diet)
Saute approx 1/4 C each of any combination of these items: onions and peppers (green, red or chili) in bacon pan or with 1 T oil until soft.
Let cool before adding to batter as last step before spreading into the baking dish.