Corn bread is one of America’s oldest recipes, born of desperate need. In colonial days, after their wheat crop failed, the American pilgrims almost starved. Fortunately, local American Indian tribes showed them how to substitute dried cornmeal for flour.
A new category of baked goods was born.
The first corn bread varieties were simple, flat, unleavened cakes made by mixing cornmeal and water.
Today, thanks to baking soda and baking powder, corn breads are more popular than ever, and they’re fluffy, delicate and tender.
In this story, we’ll describe how to make the simplest corn bread, ready in less than half an hour, then tell you how to build on the master recipe to make all sorts of creative variations.
In a final effort to show how versatile a good recipe for corn bread can be, we will finish with a recipe for an easy poultry stuffing, perfect for roasted chicken or for your Thanksgiving turkey.
Cornmeal is made from ground, dried corn kernels. It tastes more like nuts than corn and when it’s baked into bread the flavor becomes deep, rich and robust.
You can buy several different kinds. Regular cornmeal is processed to remove the hull and germ. It has a long shelf-life and, once the package is open, the grain can be stored in an airtight container in a cabinet. Most regular cornmeal comes from white or yellow corn, though blue cornmeal, for tortillas and such, is also available. Blue cornmeal is not typically used for traditional corn bread.
Stone-ground cornmeal, sold in some supermarkets and in gourmet and health-food specialty stores, contains the hull and germ. It has a heartier taste than regular cornmeal. It also has a shorter shelf-life and you must store opened packages in the refrigerator.
Cornmeal comes in coarse, medium or fine grind. Grind varieties are interchangeable when making corn bread, though the textures are obviously different – fine grind will bake into a denser, smoother bread than coarse grind.
Southern cooks sometimes prepare all-cornmeal corn breads that are crispy and toasty tasting, but most recipes call for some wheat flour, which gives the loaves a somewhat cakelike consistency.
Proportions of flour to cornmeal vary, depending upon desired texture; our master recipe has a 1-to-1 ratio. The grains are mixed with salt and leavening, then blended with eggs, milk and cooled, melted butter or other fat.
Some cooks sweeten the bread with sugar, but we have chosen honey for its more mellow touch.
Mixing the dry and liquid ingredients should be done thoroughly, but gently, otherwise the bread could become tough and rubbery. Don’t overmix.
You can use regular milk for corn bread, but if you really love this dish, we suggest buttermilk. Its lactic-acid content makes baked goods compellingly soft and tender.
You can store fresh buttermilk in the fridge for other uses (pancakes, muffins, quickbreads); it lasts a few weeks. You can also buy packaged buttermilk powder, which works just as well. If you use buttermilk for corn bread, you’ll also have to add some baking soda, to get a proper rise.
Plain corn bread, warm and smeared with butter or jam is a simple treat that needs no elaboration. On the other hand, why not just vary the recipe a bit to make meals more interesting?
Here are a few suggestions for items you can mix into corn bread batter: up to a cup of fresh corn kernels, creamed corn or grated cheese such as cheddar, Monterey Jack, gouda or Swiss; a half-cup of cooked, crumbled sausage or bacon; sauteed mushrooms or onions; sun-dried tomatoes; chopped nuts such as cashews or pecans; or seeds such as sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Consider seasonings: mix in one or two chopped jalapeno peppers, 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs (or 2 teaspoons dried herbs), or a variety of spices such as curry or chili powder (about one tablespoon).
You can even make it sweet: use more honey or molasses or substitute brown sugar, and include a cup of raisins in the mix.
Our straightforward additions include grated cheese and hard sausage; you can prepare this version with oregano if you wish.
Our stuffing recipe is best if you use day-or-two-old corn bread, which has more body than one that’s fresh.
Corn bread
4tablespoons unsalted butter
3tabllespoons honey
1cup cornmeal
1cup all-purpose flour
1tablespoons baking powder
3/4teaspoon salt
2eggs
1 1/2cups milk
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
Melt butter and honey together and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, sift cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt.
In another bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Stir in cooled butter mixture. Add liquid ingredients to dry ones and stir to combine.
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 bread.
Buttermilk corn bread
4tablespoons unsalted butter
3tablespoons honey
1cup cornmeal
1cup all-purpose flour
1tablespoons baking powder
1/2teaspoon baking soda
3/4teaspoon salt
2eggs
1 1/2cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
Melt butter and honey together and set aside to cool. In a large bowl, sift cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, beat eggs and buttermilk together. Stir in cooled butter mixture. Add liquid ingredients to dry ones and stir to combine.
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 bread.
Cheese and sausage corn bread
1recipe corn bread or buttermilk cornbread
3/4cup shredded cheddar or Parmesan cheese
1/2cup finely chopped hard Italian sausage, such as salami
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prepare master recipe for corn bread.
After mixing liquid and dry ingredients, fold in cheese and sausage.
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 bread.
Sausage and corn bread stuffing
1pound sweet, Italian-style sausage meat
5tablespoons butter
3tablespoons olive oil
1medium onion, chopped
2celery stalks, chopped
8cups crumbled corn bread or buttermilk corn bread
1/2cup chopped fresh parsley
1tablespoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper
Chicken or turkey stock, optional
Fry the sausage for about 5 minutes in a skillet over moderate heat, breaking up the meat into small pieces. When the meat has browned, remove it with a slotted spoon. Discard any pan fat.
Add the butter and olive oil to the pan. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the onion and celery and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened. Spoon the ingredients into a large bowl. Add the cornbread, parsley, thyme and some salt and pepper. Let cool and stuff the bird.
For a slightly moister stuffing, or for stuffing to be baked outside of the bird, mix in up to 1 cup of stock. To cook the stuffing outside the bird, place the stuffing in a casserole and cook it covered, in a preheated 350-degree oven about 30 minutes, then remove the cover and cook it another 10 to 15 minutes, or until it is crispy on top.
Makes about 10 cups.
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