Best Homemade Sweet Cornbread Recipe - Oh Sweet Basil (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between southern cornbread and sweet cornbread? ›

A quick Google search will tell you that Southern cornbread is oftentimes devoid of any sugar, while its Northern counterpart is light, sweet, buttery and cakelike.

The most common theory is a change in cornmeal itself. Until early in the 20th century, Southern cornmeal was made with sweeter white corn and it was water-ground. When industrial milling came along, that changed. The steel-roller mills used yellow corn that was harvested before it was ripe, so it had less sugar.

Soaking the cornmeal in buttermilk for a few hours, or even overnight, tenderizes the large grains of cornmeal, making the bread more moist and tender. This step is optional, however, and the bread is still delicious without the soaking step.

Cornmeal gives cornbread its classic color and flavor, but too much can make your bread crumbly. Try replacing a little bit of cornmeal with flour. The specific measurements will depend on how much cornmeal and flour is in your recipe, but you should try to have more flour than cornmeal in your batter.

As for the best cornmeal for cornbread, either fine- or medium-grind cornmeal is a great choice. Medium-grind cornmeal will bring slightly more texture and grittiness to the batter, which you may or may not want (it's up to you!). You can use fine or medium cornmeal in these extra corny muffins.

In the south it is debated all the time whether or not cornbread should have sugar in it. Really it comes down to personal preference, one thing's for certain though: savory cornbread is usually better for you than sweet cornbread. It is common to add sugar to cornbread. Most areas use some, but some regions use a lot.

The exact nutritional profile of cornbread can vary depending on the specific recipe and ingredients used. However, cornbread generally contains high amounts of carbs, phosphorus, and sodium in each serving. One piece of cornbread prepared from a commercially prepared mix contains ( 2 ): Calories: 198.

A typical contemporary northern U.S. cornbread recipe contains half wheat flour, half cornmeal, milk or buttermilk, eggs, leavening agent, salt, and usually sugar, resulting in a bread that is somewhat lighter and sweeter than the traditional southern version.

The thing that distinguishes Southern cornbread from, say Yankee cornbread, or any other cornbread one is likely to eat outside of the southern states, is that it is savory, not sweet, and it is made mostly with cornmeal.

1Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Note: We recommend allowing cornbread batter to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before baking, so if you prefer, you can delay heating the oven until you make the batter. 2Melt the butter, and then set aside to cool slightly.

Is it better to use butter or oil in cornbread? ›

Using oil will make your cornbread tender and moist while butter will give you heavier bread. Why do you get such different qualities from these fats? This is largely due to the fact that at room temperature, oil is a liquid while butter is a solid.

In a medium bowl, using a wooden spoon, stir the corn flour and cornmeal with the buttermilk until there are no dry pockets remaining. Cover and refrigerate overnight (or for as little as 1 hour if you want to make the cornbread right now). Preheat the oven to 375°F.

The extra egg which is increased protein and binder makes the cornbread denser and heavier in texture.

What Kind of Cornmeal Is Best for Cornbread? I usually use fine cornmeal to make cornbread, but if medium-ground or coarse is all you can find, you can use that, too. Yellow cornmeal is the most common, but if you have white cornmeal, that's also fine to use.

The consistency of the batter should be a bit like pancake batter—a little on the thin side. Thick batter can result in dry texture and cornbread that crumbles easily after baking. If you feel your batter is too thick, simply add a splash of extra milk.

Real, traditional, Southern-style cornbread is savory, not sweet, and always has been.

What is the sugar content in a batch of homemade Southern style cornbread recipe? It SHOULDN'T have sugar in it. That's Yankee style southern cornbread. It should be made with an egg, buttermilk, baking soda, a dash of salt, a little flour, and finally cornmeal- preferably the yellow.

In 1892, a Times correspondent, after enumerating the many types of corn-based breads eaten in Virginia, noted, "It will be observed that in none of them is sugar used. There are cornmeal puddings served with sweet sauces, but no Southern cook would risk the spoiling of her cornbreads by sweetening them."