Sweet and Moist Northern-Style Cornbread Recipe

By
Joshua Bousel
a photo of Joshua Bousel, a Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Joshua Bousel
Joshua Bousel is a Serious Eats old-timer, having started sharing his passion for grilling and barbecue recipes on the site back in 2008. He continues to develop grilling and barbecue recipes on his own site, The Meatwave, out of his home base of Durham, North Carolina.
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Updated Aug. 29, 2018
20141031-cornbread-joshua-bousel.jpg
Sweet and cakey Northern-style cornbread with a crisp, Southern-influenced crust. Joshua Bousel

You don't have to give up that crisp, brown, Southern-style crust to enjoy sweet and moist Northern-style cornbread. We tweaked our Northern cornbread recipe until we finally arrived on a version that delivers both, with plenty of golden corn flavor to boot.

Why this recipe works:

  • Preheating the pan and coating it with butter creates a dark crust with a light, nutty flavor
  • Using sour cream along with buttermilk increases the mild tanginess and overall flavor of the bread
  • Adding a little oil to the batter results in a more cake-like moistness
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Recipe Facts

4.5

(11)

Active: 10 mins
Total: 40 mins
Serves: 6 to 8 servings

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled slightly, plus 1 additional tablespoon for pan
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions

  1. Place a 10" cast iron skillet on middle rack in oven and preheat to 425°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, buttermilk, eggs, 3 tablespoons melted butter, and canola oil. Pour wet ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients and whisk until completely combined.

  2. Using pot holders, carefully remove hot pan from oven. Place 1 tablespoon butter in skillet and swirl to completely melt and coat inside of pan. Pour in cornbread batter and place in oven. Bake until skewer inserted into middle of cornbread comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 5 minutes, then carefully turn out to wire rack and let cool an additional 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Reheat any leftover cornbread before serving again.

Special equipment

10-inch cast iron skillet

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