Golden buttermilk cornbread
Tender, lightly sweet cornbread with crisp golden edges, stirred together in two bowls and baked in a square pan.
- 45 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 9
- About $0.40 a serving
- 230 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 9 servings.
- 6 tbsp butter, plus a little for the pan
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
From your pantry
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp salt
Each serving has about 230 calories, 5 g protein, 32 g carbs and 9 g fat, and costs about $0.40 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F and butter an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
the 6 tablespoons butter in a small over low heat, then set it aside to cool for a few minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Low heat
the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
In another bowl, the buttermilk and eggs, then whisk in the butter.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and with a spatula just until no dry flour shows.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Dolly’s tip: A few lumps are fine. Stirring too much makes cornbread tough.Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top.
20 to 25 minutes, until on top and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 22 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then cut into 9 squares.
Timer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Wrapped tightly, it keeps a day at room temperature. Warm squares in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
