Cornbread (is so easy!)

I don't know why, but I've always had an obsession with cornbread, even though I rarely ate it. Back in Montreal, I'd even bought a bag of cornmeal to keep in the pantry - I may have cooked up some polenta once or twice, but the cornbread just never happened.

I finally had my chance to make cornbread when I was making my rice cooker chili. It was my day off, so I prepped everything for the chili in the morning, then when it came time to "make dinner", I just mixed the cornbread batter and popped it in the oven.

Now that I've finally made the cornbread, my only question is - what took me so long? I'm now tempted to have a bag of cornmeal and some frozen or canned corn on hand at all times to whip up some cornbread when I see fit.


I used Dorie Greenspan's Corniest Corn Muffins recipe, which she'd kindly posted on Serious Eats. I was able to whip up the batter quickly - any recipe that doesn't require me to bring out the electric mixer is great in my books - then dumped it all into a 9" round cake pan instead of dividing it into muffin tins.


The cornbread was crumbly, but moist, and bursting with corn flavour. I felt guilty about the fact that I turned a recipe that made 12 muffins into one that made eight wedges of cornbread, so I tried to halve my wedges... the nutrition info below assumes that you slice the round into a more realistic eight.

Also, don't forget to read to the bottom of the recipe and follow Dorie's storage instructions - otherwise, the cornbread is so moist that if you leave it at room temperature it begins to turn stinky and bitter in 3-4 days (ew.)

Whole Wheat Cornbread
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan via Serious Eats
Makes 1 9" round or 12 muffins

• 1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat flour
  
• 1 cup (250 mL) cornmeal
  
• 6 tbsp (90 mL) sugar
  
• 2½ tsp (12 mL) baking powder
  
• ¼ tsp (1 mL) baking soda
  
• 1 pinch nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
  
• 1 cup buttermilk (250 mL)
  
• 3 tbsp butter (45 mL), melted and cooled
  
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) corn oil, or vegetable oil
  
• 1 large egg
  
• 1 large egg yolk
  
• 1 cup corn kernels, fresh, frozen or canned (drained and patted dry)

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (205˚C). Grease a 9" round cake pan or a 12 regular-sized muffin tins.
   
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a large glass measuring cup with a spout or in another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, oil, egg and yolk. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – the batter will be lumpy and that’s just the way it should be. Stir in the corn kernels. Pour batter into cake pan or divide into muffin molds.
   
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (15 to 18 if making muffins), or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for about 10 minutes before turning out on a rack to cool, or serve directly from pan, preferably with chili, or butter and jam.
   
4. If possible, consume cornbread the day it's made. Wrap any leftover cornbread in plastic wrap and store in freezer for up to a month. To serve, reheat in a 300°F (150˚C) oven or toast in toaster oven.

Nutrition Info (per 1/8 recipe): 288 calories, 11 g fat (4 g saturated), 65 mg cholesterol, 42 g carbohydrate (3 g fibre, 12 g sugar), 6 g protein, 266 mg sodium. An excellent source of manganese and selenium.

PS: My friend A. recently went on a cornbread-making rampage as well, using and making variations on Paula Deen's Moist & Easy Cornbread. She was looking for suggestions on what to do with leftover buttermilk - I think throwing it in mac & cheese is an excellent idea, but would welcome any others :)