Buttermilk cheddar and Bacon Cornbread recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why do Southerners not put sugar in cornbread? ›

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.

Cornbread FAQ

Yes, you can, but it may result in a less rich flavor. If you're out of milk, try using cream or half-and-half, evaporated or powdered milk, or even plain yogurt. If you have dietary restrictions, try soy milk or oat milk. Can I substitute butter for vegetable oil in cornbread?

Northern cornbreads tend to be more cake-like, on the sweet side, with a finer crumb due to more flour in the mixture. Southern cornbread is flavored with bacon grease, and cooked in a cast iron skillet, a perfect side for barbecues, or chili. It also tends to be rather crumbly.

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.

While both styles generally use the same ingredients -- cornmeal, flour, eggs, and baking powder -- the variance lies in the flavor and texture. Northern-style cornbread tends to be sweeter, moister, and cake-like compared to its Southern counterpart.

You can substitute water for milk on a one to one basis in your recipe. It won't be quite as rich, but it will be cornbread. There are plenty of recipes for hot water cornbread. The batter is made with cornmeal, salt, sugar, and boiling water.

They're not completely interchangeable. Yes, you can swap them in a recipe, but it's not as simple as switching buttermilk for heavy cream/heavy cream for buttermilk. For example, if you're replacing buttermilk with heavy cream you'll probably need to switch out your baking soda for baking powder.

Combine the half-and-half, eggs, butter (or shortening), and sugar (if using). Add half-and-half mixture to the flour mixture and combine just until the flour is moistened, no more than 10 to 15 seconds. Then fold in the corn, but don't overmix the batter or your cornbread will be too tough.

Among them was a version of Indian bread made of cornmeal, salt and water called pone or corn pone. The name came from the Algonquin word apan, meaning "baked." The Narragansett word for cornbread, nokechick, became no-cake and then hoe-cake.

Which makes better cornbread white or yellow cornmeal? ›

Southerners, on the other hand, tend to prefer white cornmeal. Many people believe that it is because, in the old South, families used white cornmeal as it more closely resembled “fancy” European wheat flour. In any case, today it remains a main component in traditional Southern buttermilk cornbread.

There are some basic differences between Southern corn-bread and what many people call "Yankee" cornbread. Southern cornbread, besides being made from white corn meal, has very little sugar in it - between a teaspoon and a tablespoon. And it is made with buttermilk.

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

Heat and spices

If you're into heat, Fields says there are endless ways to give your cornbread a kick. You can stir in 1 cup of roasted chopped jalapeños or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne into the batter. Or, you can mix in 3 tablespoons of your favorite chile paste.

Even with the addition of flour and sugar, today's Southern cornbread doesn't taste the same as the original versions. To get that old-fashioned taste, Serious Eats insists on using stone-ground cornmeal and eliminating sugar and flour entirely.

That doesn't mean that cornbread doesn't include sugar; it just means that more often than not, Southern cornbread doesn't have sugar in it. So, back to what I said above, “if a Southerner put sugar in their cornbread, then there's sugar in Southern cornbread.

I recommend. The two tablespoons of sugar doesn't make it sweet. This isn't a sweet corn bread. Closer to a no sugar version than not but definitely the right balance.

There are cornmeal puddings served with sweet sauces, but no Southern cook would risk the spoiling of her cornbreads by sweetening them." In 1937, the Times reported that "cornbread in Kentucky is made with white, coarsely ground cornmeal. Never, never are sugar and wheat flour used in cornbread.