Cornbread Help


 
Tim L.

Tim L.

TVWBB Pro
I have always been a huge fan of cornbread and am desperately searching for a recipe I can make that I enjoy, and that my family enjoys; so far I've had no luck*.

Recipes I've tried, and the results:

1) Sour Cream Cornbread from the Cooking Topics section of this board. This recipe requires the use of cast iron skillet. I used a Le Cresuet cast iron skillet that was "enameled". I'm not sure if this had an affect on the cornbread, but the problem was that the result was mushy and extremely "wet" no matter how long I left it in the oven. I followed all other directions to a T.

2) Shawn's "Super Moist Cornbread" from this forum. It's a similar recipe to the one above, but no requirement for the cast iron skillet, and more eggs. Again, I followed it to a T, and even squeezed excess water out of the corn meal after soaking, but again...way too "wet" for me.

I can post a picture if need be, but both recipes above left me with a bread that was more "wet" than it was "moist". I always undercook my brownies and other baked goods to keep them on the moist side, but these two were wet and no one in my family would eat either of them.

3) The recipe from the back of Bob's Red Mill coarse ground cornmeal (basically: flour, baking powder, sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup mile, some butter). This one by far had the best taste to me b/c it tasted less like cake and more like corn meal. But...it was extremely dry.

4) Marie Calendar's cornbread mix. I think all I did was add water. What's most depressing about all of this is that this one was the most popular. Not for me, b/c it was too airy and cake-like, but among the crowds.

2 questions:

A) Can someone describe the two (or more?) "types" of cornbread? I've heard of sweet, southern, north-eastern, etc, and definitely noticed a difference between the result I got from the coarse ground Red Mill recipe (yellow, grity, dense, excellent corn flavor), and the more cake/bread-like type that I'm actually literally eating right now (airy, more white in color, sweet).

B) Any general thoughts or suggestions? The recipes with sour cream just seem like way too much liqud to me to ever solidify. Sour cream, butter, creamed corn, etc.

I still need to try the Blue Ribbon cornbread to see what that produces.

Thanks!
 
My favorite is to just use a couple of Jiffy cornbread box mixes. Make as directed and add a small can of chopped jalapenos or green chilies, a small can of creamed corn and some shredded cheese and then add it to a preheated HOT skillet. It usually takes 40 -45 minutes to bake.
 
In a cast-iron skillet fry 1/2 lb bacon put grease & bacon aside
2 cups yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tb baking powder
1 ts salt
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
Oil from bacon
Heat oven to 400F & heat skillet with 1tbs of oil for 10 min.
Mix rest of oil with the rest of ingredients & the crumbled BACON!
Cook for 20 min flip  & put back in skillet for 5 min.
 
Washington Retail Corn Bread Mix

Indian Head White or Yellow Corn Meal ¼ cup
Washington Self Rising Flour ½ cup
Salt ½ tsp
Sugar 1 tbsp
Baking Powder 2½ tsp

Egg 1
Oil 2 tbsp
Milk 1¼ cup

Preheat oven to 450F. Combine all dry ingredients in mixing bowl and mix together with wire whip or spatula. Add oil, egg and milk and mix with wire whip or spatula just until batter is uniform. Pour batter into well greased 8” X 8” pan. Bake 18-22 minutes.

Washington Retail Corn Muffin Mix

Indian Head Yellow Corn Meal 2/3 cup
Washington Self Rising Flour ½ cup
Salt ¼ tsp
Sugar 3 tbsp
Baking Powder 1 tsp

Egg 1
Oil 2 tbsp
Milk ½ cup

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all dry ingredients in mixing bowl and mix together with wire whip or spatula. Add oil, egg and milk and mix with wire whip or spatula just until batter is uniform. Pour batter into well greased muffin cups filling about ¾ full. Bake 18-22 minutes. Makes about 6 muffins.
 
Thanks for the great suggetions guys. Keri's is the one recipe on the site (of the "main ones") that I haven't tried.

-what's the reason for preheating the skillet? I've seen that in several recipes now.

-Does the Le Creuset skillet with the white enamel on it count, or does it need to be straight black?

thanks!
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">A) Can someone describe the two (or more?) "types" of cornbread? I've heard of sweet, southern, north-eastern, etc, and definitely noticed a difference between the result I got from the coarse ground Red Mill recipe (yellow, grity, dense, excellent corn flavor), and the more cake/bread-like type that I'm actually literally eating right now (airy, more white in color, sweet). B) Any general thoughts or suggestions? The recipes with sour cream just seem like way too much liqud to me to ever solidify. Sour cream, butter, creamed corn, etc. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
The main difference between northern and southern cornbread is sweetness. Though Keri describes her recipe as being southern it is rather sweet and really more northern. Southern cornbread recipes often have no sugar at all. One might see a couple teaspoons of sugar to boost the corn flavor, but anything over 2 tablespoons and the recipe is veering north.

Me, I like anywhere from about 2 teaspoons to maybe 1 or 2 tablespoons, depending on the cornmeal I'm using. I find the sweetness of Jiffy-type mixes and recipes to be horribly cloying. There's no right or wrong. You can always make a recipe more or less sweet, according to your taste.

Another variable is flour. In some places in the south flour is not included at all. When I make cornbread in a skillet I usually make a recipe without flour, and often without sugar. For recipes that include flour I usually use a pan - but you can use anything you want. For skillet cornbread (or when using the a stick mold) the pan is heated first so that the batter will crisp more quickly and cook more quickly. Heating the pan also helps the batter not stick. (An enameled pan is fine.)

Mixes like Jiffy, and similar recipes, make a cake-y, and imo, too airy cornbread. Cornmeal fineness (I use a mix of fine and medium or course meals for some) and the ratio of flour, plus the leavening ratio, determines this result.

If the result of the recipe you're making is too wet then the cornbread likely did not cook long enough.

Sometimes I use bacon grease in the skillet or pan, but I almost always use butter in the batter itself. To me this makes a big difference. I also use a mix of whole milk and buttermilk.
 
Try different recipes and see what you like. Most can easily be tweaked. The one I use most often, baked in a 13x9, is this one, easily made less or more sweet, if you wish, and easily tweaked with grated cheddar, minced jalapeños or other chilies, etc.:

softened unsalted butter for greasing a 13x9 pan

4 Tbls unsalted butter, melted

4 large eggs

1.33 cups whole milk

1.33 cups buttermilk (well shaken before measuring)

2 cups stone-ground cornmeal

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp-2 Tbls sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1.25 tsp fine sea salt

.25 tsp ground white pepper


Make sure your oven rack is in the middle position then heat the oven to 375?. Grease the pan with the softened butter.

In a large bowl, using a dry whisk, mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and white pepper.

In a 4-cup measure, mix the two milks together. Beat the eggs in a small bowl just to combine well then whisk into the milk mixture.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then pour the milk-egg mixture into the well as you stir it into the dry mix. Stir only till just combined. Stir in the melted butter.

Pour/spoon the batter into the prepped pan then bake on the center rack 30-40 minutes, till the top is golden and the edges have pulled from the pan's sides. Put the pan on a cake-cooling rack and allow to cool about 45 min.
 
Here's one I found on Food Network, haven't tried it yet but sounds good.
-----------------------
Kent's BBQ Cornbread

Recipe courtesy Kent Whitaker

Prep Time:
25 min
Inactive Prep Time:
--
Cook Time:
1 hr 10 min

Level:
Intermediate

Serves:
8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon butter, for greasing the pan, plus 1 1/2 cups butter, melted
* 3/4 pound left over BBQ pork or beef
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 6 eggs
* 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 1/2 (15-ounce) cans cream-style corn
* 1/4 cup drained canned chopped green chile peppers
* 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (Recommended: combination Monterey Jack and Cheddar)
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
* 2 tablespoons baking powder
* Pinch salt

Topping:

* 6 tablespoons butter
* 3 tablespoons your favorite bbq sauce
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
* 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly butter a deep 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Shred left over BBQ into fine pieces and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the butter, milk, and sugar. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until well incorporated. Add the creamed corn, chiles, cheese, and shredded BBQ and stir until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to corn mixture; stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until golden brown and until a toothpick inserted into center of the pan comes out clean.

Topping:

Combine all and melt in microwave. Brush over cornbread and place back in oven for a few minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm. It's ok to break up pieces and serve in a small bowl.
 
Barry that's not cornbread it's a meal!
icon_smile.gif

Actually looks great!
 
The loss of Tree Rivers Cornmeal has been huge! It was the best. As A mix, all you did was add Mayfield buttermilk, an egg and oil. What I know, I learned from my mother in law and my wife. I would suggest the quality of ingredients comes first. Whether you find a good mix (we use Martha White now) or you start with corn meal and build from that, quality matters. Also, the buttermilk makes a huge difference. I like buttermilk like I like my red wines-give me some gusto and flavor! No milk. No sugar please-NO SUGAR. If you don't like that way refer to Kruger's comments.
Technique: preheat a cast iron skillet at 425 with the oil. Mix your dry ingredients...add the buttermilk and egg. When the skillet is hot, add the hot oil to the batter, mix then return the batter to the skillet and bake. The hot skillet yields a wonderful crisp crust.
Good cornbread is not cakelike nor your typical bread texture. It should be more rustic or crude with a grainy texture. It is about the cornmeal not flour. Those are my thoughts, hope they help in some small way.
 
I've used Kerry's recipe with stick pans, cornbread pan (wedged), and skillet with good results. Sometimes I drop the amount of sugar and just add about 1/2 cup of chopped corn, fresh if I have it or canned. I've also added a chili or two. Also tried it with buttermilk, excellent that way as well.

When I use the CI I do preheat whatever I'm using to about 350-400 first, brush with some clarified butter or bacon fat. No problems with sticking, they pretty much fall right out.

In fact I don't think I've ever made corn meal in anything but black cast iron. Not that you shouldn't use anything else. I have the CI, so I use it.

I've also used the Tyler Florence recipe and modified it a little. Comes out very good. It's the one that is made like a loaf. I just cook it in the skillet or sticks like I usually do.

I haven't tried straight up, no flour, no sugar versions I like a little sweet - but I'm from the "North"
icon_smile.gif


If you are using the Le Creuset skillet it should work fine. You should always preheat to about 350-400 first. Preheat for about 30 minutes or while you are mixing the batter, add a tab of butter or fat to coat the pan then turn in the batter and bake till it starts to turn brown. Being enameled would have no affect on the result IMHO.

I use Indian Head corn meal, and all purpose flour.

I don't like to use too much sugar or ingredients that jack up the sweetness. I want to be able to use some jam or spread on some sweet butter and grill it in a pan to caramelize before serving if it's not eaten at once.

And I like it coarse, not recipes that make cornbread "cake"
icon_smile.gif
Not a fan of the boxed mixes either.

Yeah, my friends from the South tell me if I add sugar it's not cornbread.

Typically I'll modify any recipe with sugar and back it down to 1/2 cup or less. Unless I'm making it for others that I know like it really sweet.
 
Tim,
First of all, keep it simple.
Use a basic recipe: 1 Cup of plain meal, 1 Cup of Buttermilk or more (enough to make it soupy but not too soupy) 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. of salt. Adjust amount of ingredients to the size of the skillet.
Heat a greased American made skillet at 400' for at least 6 min. - you'll know it is ready when you toss a drop or 2 of water in it. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes. Don't worry about cracks in the top. You'll know it's done when it has pulled away from the sides of the skillet. If you aren't using a hot skillet-you're making cornbread for stuffing or dressing.
To get an idea of what it should be like use 2 packs of either Martha White's Cotton Country Cornbread Mix (formerly Cotton Pickin) or Martha White Buttermilk Cornbread Mix.
 
A southwest variety adds chopped peppers.

While stationed in Paraguay for a year, Sopa Paraguaya became one of my favorite snacks which is heavier in onions and cheese. Both Sopa Paraguaya, Chipa So'o and Chipa Guazú (also from corn flour) were sold on street corners from women who resembled your grandma and the taste reflected their years of refinement.

John
 
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