How to Make Easy Cornbread from Scratch

When I was a child, cornbread was king. We always had it around the house. At meal times there was always a hot, fresh pan of cornbread on the table. It was always around and somehow, I never got tired of it.

Cornbread isn't just a dinner bread. Over the years, I think that many people have forgotten all of the beauty in this simple, old-fashioned quick bread. With the mixes that are now on the market, the old fashioned types of cornbread have been slid to the way side with sweeter varieties that are more like cake that the original bread.

This cornbread recipe does have a little sugar in it but it doesn't sweeten the bread into corn cake status. If you have never tasted an old fashioned cornbread, this one might surprise you. It is fluffy but not cake sweet. Depending on how fine your cornmeal is ground, you'll see that this recipe will make a cornbread without all of those little "pebbles" that you get in the mixes from the rougher cornmeal grind that they use.

This cornbread is great for mealtime, with a nice pot of beans and an anytime quick snack. It is also great crumbled into a bowl and covered with milk and eaten like cereal or with a spoon of homemade strawberry jam. Homemade cornbread also makes a wonderful cornbread stuffing when left out for a few days to go stale.

You definitely can not go wrong with an old fashioned, homemade cornbread. Give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

Prep time: 5 minutes     Cook time:  25 minutes     Ready in: 30 minutes  Yields: 8 servings

Ingredients to Make Cornbread

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of cornmeal
• 2 Tablespoons of sugar
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon shortening, lard or other oil to grease the baking pan

How to Make Homemade Cornbread

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Add the milk, egg and oil to the dry ingredients.

Stir until combined.  Don't overmix it, it should be lumpy.

Let the batter rest in the bowl while you grease your pan.  I'm using a 12" iron skillet for my cornbread but you can use an 8" by 8" baking pan if you don't have an iron skillet available.

Pour the batter into the greased pan and put it into the oven.  Bake for approximately 20 to 30 minutes until when a toothpick poked into the center of the cornbread comes out clean.

When the cornbread is done it will be golden brown and a little darker around the edges.  Let the cornbread cool for a few minutes before you cut into it.  I know, it smells so wonderful that you want to cut it straight out of the oven but if you do that, it will fall apart and who wants that?

Enjoy your fresh, homemade (not home assembled with a mix out of a box) cornbread with dinner or as a snack.  Any leftovers can be put into a plastic bag, stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap.  The leftovers will last on the counter for a few days.  At least that's what I hear because homemade cornbread never lasts that long in this house!