Classic American Cornbread (Printable)

Golden-crusted American cornbread with tender crumb, balancing sweet and savory notes in every bite.

# What you'll need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 1 cup yellow cornmeal
02 - 1 cup all-purpose flour
03 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
04 - 1 tablespoon baking powder
05 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
06 - 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

→ Wet Ingredients

07 - 1 cup whole milk
08 - 2 large eggs
09 - 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
10 - 1/4 cup vegetable oil
11 - 2 tablespoons honey

# How to make it:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease an 8-inch square pan or 9-inch cast-iron skillet with butter or nonstick spray.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly distributed.
03 - In a separate medium bowl, whisk milk, eggs, melted butter, oil, and honey until fully combined and smooth.
04 - Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir gently with a spatula until just combined; do not overmix as this will toughen the bread.
05 - Pour batter into the prepared pan or skillet. Smooth the top with a spatula to ensure even baking.
06 - Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
07 - Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing and serving warm.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • The honey and butter create this incredible golden crust that shatters when you bite into it, revealing a crumb so tender it feels like eating a cloud
  • It comes together in one bowl in ten minutes flat, which means you can decide to make cornbread alongside dinner without any advance planning
02 -
  • Overmixing is the enemy of tender cornbread, stop as soon as you no longer see dry flour
  • Cast iron gives you the crispiest crust, but a regular pan works perfectly fine if that is what you have
03 -
  • Let your eggs and milk come to room temperature before mixing, they incorporate much more easily into the batter
  • Place your cast-iron skillet in the oven while it preheats, then add the batter to the hot pan for the crispiest crust imaginable
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