# Help me Fix my Dry Cornbread?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [October 20, 2019, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044 "2019-10-20T18:05:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2019, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/21 "2019-10-21T00:32:44Z")
> [@needscoffee](#):
>
> If you’re following a standard recipe and it’s coming out too dry, you are cooking it too long or too hot, period. It’s done cooking when it’s still just a bit under-cooked in the center, because all cakes will continue to cook before they’ve cooled down. It’s extra important with cornbread because cornmeal has such a crumbly texture.
This sounds right to me and it’s the fist thing I’d try. Upthread, **Silenus** suggested adding canned corn. I would actually used canned _creamed_ corn. I think it work and tastes well and it might be worth your time for an experiment.
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/22 "2019-10-21T00:37:42Z")
Try a muffin pan.
I get much better baking results and it’s easier to serve.
I like the six muffin size. A standard cornbread receipe makes that many. Use a good quality, heavy pan.
I like Wilton baking pans
> **[Wilton Perfect Results Premium Non-Stick Bakeware Standard Muffin Pan, 6-Cup,...](https://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Perfect-Results-Non-Stick-Bakeware/dp/B004EBS00I)**
>
> Buy Wilton Perfect Results Premium Non-Stick Bakeware Standard Muffin Pan, 6-Cup, Steel at Amazon. Customer reviews and photos may be available to help you make the right purchase decision!
I haven’t made a single pan of cornbread in 10 years. Cornbread Muffins are so much better.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [October 21, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/23 "2019-10-21T01:14:31Z")
I’ve never had anyone _fail_ to love my cornbread and ask for the recipe. It’s southern style: no flour, and no sugar.
2 cups stone ground corn meal, white or yellow
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten lightly
4 tbsp cooking oil (e.g. safflower, grapeseed, corn, etc)
2 cups buttermilk
Grease a pan. I’m in the habit of using a 9" Pyrex, my Dad uses a cast iron frying pan, my Mom used to use a regular metal square 9" cake pan.
Preheat oven to 400°
Stir together the dry ingredients. Don’t mix in the wet until the oven is preheated. When you do, stir them together just until you don’t get puffs of dry ingredients when you stir (don’t seek a totally smooth uniform batter, in other words).
Pour into greased pan.
Bake 50 minutes.
Upend pan (cornbread should pop right out) onto a plate. To keep the cornbread from “sweating” against the plate you can put a couple of table knives down and set the corn pone down on top of them and let them suspend the cornbread slightly in the air.
Eat.
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### Author:  [@Time\_Like\_Tears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Like_Tears)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2019, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/24 "2019-10-23T02:24:02Z")
And here’s mine, save for the occasional sticking of a tiny bit of the bottom (top?) crust this one comes out perfectly moist and corny and yummy every time, and is pretty easy to remember. May of course be adjusted because ovens vary.
Southern Cornbread (The 2x2x2 Recipe)
2 cups self-rising cornmeal mix (I use Martha White)
2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
½ stick (4 tbsp. or ¼ cup) butter or margarine OR ¼ cup bacon drippings (preferred)
(Recipe written for baking in a seasoned 8 inch cast iron skillet. For baking in a Pyrex or glass dish, or in an aluminum pan, omit preheating the pan in the oven, grease your pan and melt fat separately.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F / 205°C. Place butter, margarine, or bacon drippings in pan, and into the oven on the center rack.
• While the pan and fat are heating, mix buttermilk and eggs, and then slowly add cornmeal mix. The batter will be fairly thin, and lumps are fine.
• Once the melted fat starts to smoke in the pan, remove the pan from the oven and pour melted fat into batter, mixing just to incorporate. Pour the batter into the hot pan, and place in oven for approximately 22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
-DO NOT pour cool batter into a hot glass or aluminum baking pan. Just don’t.
-For a drier cornbread, omit one egg and use milk instead of buttermilk (useful for stuffing or as a base for soup).
-Batter can be made up to one hour ahead of time. The longer it sits, the fluffier your cornbread will be.
Prep – 5 minutes Cook – 22-25 minutes Oven – 400°F /205°C Servings – Approximately 8
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### Author:  [@Time\_Like\_Tears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Time_Like_Tears)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2019, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/25 "2019-10-23T02:29:07Z")
> [@Time\_Like\_Tears](#):
>
> And here’s mine…
> Southern Cornbread (The 2x2x2 Recipe)
This was written for my cookbook which is kinda in a ‘for teens and kitchen dummies’ style, very blunt and to the point - hence the overexplaining in the copy+paste 😉
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2019, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/26 "2019-10-23T03:17:28Z")
I’m planning to make cornbread for the soup kitchen meal I will be serving at on Thursday, and am thinking about trying something a bit unusual: making a sponge with the wheat flour and some yeast, and then adding the other ingredients.
Has anyone else tried that, and if so, what were the results?
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [October 23, 2019, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/27 "2019-10-23T03:28:40Z")
The yeast risen corn bread recipes I’ve seen used 2-3 times as much wheat flour as corn meal. The ones I tried out produced a slightly heavy white bread with a little bit of cornbread flavor.
In general, use the coarsest corn meal you can get for better flavor and texture. And grease the pan with corn oil, that really enhances the corn flavor.
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### Author:  [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2019, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/28 "2019-10-26T02:41:04Z")
I’ve been making multigrain breads for nearly 50 years. The first time I used cornmeal it came out quite dry. I know how much liquid corn absorbs when it cooks, so I decided to try pre-cooking it. I simply add the grain mixture to boiling water and turn it off immediately, let it cool for an hour or so and then add yeast and revert to the previous case. It works.
My recipe:
1/2 cup each of corn meal, oatmeal, ground flax seed, skim milk powder and a heaping tsp. salt into 2 1/2 c. boiling water. Decant into a bowl and let cool an hour. A half cup water, a half tsp. each of sugar dried yeast on top of the cooked mix and allowed to prove for 15 minutes. Then I mix in to the cooked grains about 3 cups (I don’t measure, so this is a guess) of flour, half whole wheat and knead a dough and let it rise overnight (else use a full tsp of yeast and leave it a couple hours) in a covered bowl. Knock it down shape it into a buttered bread pan and let it rise for an hour or two and bake it 50 minutes at 425.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/29 "2019-10-28T02:00:44Z")
For what it’s worth, I made [this recipe](https://cafedelites.com/easy-buttermilk-cornbread/) today to go with my bean/ham hock soup. It came out quite moist. I don’t mind sweet in my cornbread, as I’m going to top it with butter and honey anyway.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/30 "2019-10-28T02:18:33Z")
People who make sweet cornbread are people who put beans in chili.
Damn Yankees.
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### Author:  [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2019, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/31 "2019-10-28T02:41:12Z")
Update: I did make corn bread but didn’t use yeast. In this case, I had 2 disposable aluminum pie pans and made it in that, and divided each into 16 slices. I ended up serving 31 of them, and that 32nd was deeee-licious. 🆒
Our main course was meatloaf, and the crowd was considerably larger than usual and we ran out. About a dozen people said they were willing to wait for more hot food, so our pastor got in his car and drove to a nearby strip mall intending to get several pizzas from Little Caesar’s. That place had a line out the door and nothing freshly available, so he went to a sandwich shop next door and picked up several family-sized tubs of spaghetti and meatballs.
I was in the salad-and-dessert area of the serving line, and wondered why everyone was suddenly asking for dip.
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2019, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/32 "2019-10-28T02:42:56Z")
> [@silenus](#):
>
> People who make sweet cornbread are people who put beans in chili.
> Damn Yankees.
[This ain’t accurate](https://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/food-drink/article68763427.html).
> [@Charlotte Observer](#):
>
> To be sure, today’s cornbread lines have gotten fuzzy. There are sweet cornbread fans in the white camp, and non-sweet cornbread fans among African-Americans. But the two styles are distinctive enough to make anyone who pays attention wonder how the racial difference started.
>
> 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. They eliminated the germ so it kept longer, but it had less corn flavor. And they ground it finer. You had to add a little flour to help it rise and sugar to add flavor.
>
> Yellow cornmeal was cheap, though. So black cooks who had little money may have changed their cornbread to match the cornmeal they could afford.
> …
>
> What about the claim that sweet cornbread is Northern? Adrian Miller, author of “Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine,” thinks that association started with the Great Migration, when blacks moved North in search of better jobs in the early 20th century. In the North, where they would have only had industrially milled cornbread, the sugar habit got even more entrenched, then came back to the South with the rise of soul food restaurants.
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### Author:  [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2019, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/33 "2019-10-28T03:06:08Z")
I make cracklin’ cornbread in my iron skillet with pork cracklings, _creamed_ corn, buttermilk and jalapenos. Always crispy, never dry.
I’ve learned to not make this when I’ve imbibed to much EtOH, however. In my eagerness to nibble on this heavenly concoction I’ve scalded my hand grabbing onto the just-out-of-the-oven skillet handle—twice!
How does that saying go? \*Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on you again for letting me cook when I’m three sheets to the wind? \*
I guess I could have used my sloughed off skin as cracklings for my next batch of corn bread, but, that seemed kind of…auto-cannibalistic.
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### Author:  [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2019, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/34 "2019-10-28T03:42:41Z")
**TruCelt** - Are you preheating your pan? That seems to be key element.
StG
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/35 "2019-10-28T03:50:02Z")
> [@TruCelt](#):
>
> …I do a triple recipe and pour it into a lasagna pan lined with parchment paper, then straight into a hot oven…
I wonder if making a triple recipe makes it harder to completely cook the center without drying out the rest of it?
I make it in a cast iron skillet. I melt the butter in the skillet, pour it into the egg, add the milk, mix the batter, put it all into the still-hot skillet, then put the skillet into the over the finish cooking. (Or sometimes just finish it on the stove, with a lid.) It I cook it too long it can get drier.
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### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [October 28, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-fix-my-dry-cornbread/842044/36 "2019-10-28T15:07:23Z")
Yeah, I think the triple recipe is screwing you up here. Make a single or double batch and cook it in cast iron. Throw your pan in the oven while it’s preheating, then just before you pour the batter in, slap some lard or shortening in the pan and swirl it around. Add your batter and cook on a slightly lower temp. You’ll get the crispy outside and the soft tender inside.
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