Old Fashioned Cornbread

This easy cornbread recipe takes only 30 minutes. Based on a simple old fashioned Betty Crocker recipe, it has delicious corn flavor and slight crispiness. It will become a family for casual family dinner.

Introduction

Cornbread is an excellent change of pace from the usual bread for a down-home meal of fried chicken, soup, or chili. You can quickly whip it up in only 30 with only the ingredients in your pantry.

Cornbread is a quick bread, meaning the dough's leavening comes from baking soda and/or baking powder, not from yeast.

I went old school and used our much-loved 1972 Betty Crocker's Cookbook. A few changes were needed, but it is still full of that old-fashioned goodness and simple to make.

My Rating

A very nice 4. Nothing more since it is just cornbread.

🌽Types of Cornmeal

Not all cornmeal is the same but does it matter? Well, not much, usually.

Cornmeal comes in yellow and white colors. You can also find blue if you look hard enough. Yellow cornmeal is a bit sweeter and will provide a bit more taste. But all are used interchangeably.

There is also a difference in the grind/texture of some cornmeal. This is generally not something you will worry about if you buy small home amounts at most supermarkets.

Most cornmeal will be a medium grind. But a finer grind will provide more of a cake-like texture to your cornbread. Course grinds are used more for hot cereal but can add more texture to your cornbread.

Types of Cornbread

This recipe would be called northern/midwestern cornbread. It does have sugar and flour, so it is sweeter and more cake-like than southern cornbread. Also, usually made with yellow cornmeal. This modification of a 1972 version of a Betty Crocker cornbread is relatively light on sugar.

The other major type of cornbread is southern cornbread which has traditionally been made with little or no sugar or flour. It is also frequently made with white cornmeal, buttermilk, and baked in a cast-iron skillet. It is not as sweet and will have more of a crust.

👨‍🍳How to Make Old Fashioned Cornbread

You can use standard baking pans. 8 to 9-inch square or round will do nicely. I prefer an 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan. Or you can use an 8 or 9-inch cast-iron skillet.

The smaller the pan, the thicker the cornbread. That is why we cook to an endpoint and not by time alone and never by time alone. Thicker cornbread will take a few more minutes to cook.

👨‍🍳When is cornbread done?

Cornbread will cook quickly, usually in about 20 minutes, but you have variables that will make time unreliable—the pan material and size along with the oven. All these things plot against you, so time alone will not do.

There are several ways to tell if your cornbread is done. The color should be golden brown and darker brown on the edge. Next is an internal temperature of 195°+.

The last method to test for done is very "old school" cooking.—the toothpick test. This is where you use a clean toothpick and insert it into the thickest part of a dish, and it should come out clean.

❄️Serving and Storage

📖Quick Bread Recipes

Cornbread Drop Biscuits

Beer Bread

Cheddar Bay Biscuits a la Red Lobster

Old Fashioned Banana Nut Bread

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°. Prep an 8-inch square baking pan with a heavy spray of PAM.

In a large mixing bowl, mix 1 cup of cornmeal, 1 cup flour, 2 tablespoon sugar, 4 teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix until flour and cornmeal are mixed well.

Microwave ¼ cup (½ stick) butter until just melted—about 20 seconds.

In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter and 1 cup of milk, mix and then stir in 1 egg and mix thoroughly. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until flour and cornmeal are moist. Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread to level the top.

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. About 18-20 minutes usually.

📖Recipe

Originally Published December 20, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.