Cornbread is an unyeasted batter bread made with cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and sometimes sugar and eggs.
It has its origins among Native Americans and has become synonymous with Southern-style cooking. In the southern states, it’s often served with molasses and butter.
Cornbread is usually baked and sometimes fried. It can also be steamed. Home cooks sometimes run into issues with their cornbread being undercooked inside yet browned on the outside.
We’re going to tell you what to do about that so that your next batch of cornbread works out perfectly.
How is cornbread usually eaten?
In the US, cornbread is often eaten at a barbeque and sometimes served with a chile. Leftovers are eaten for breakfast. Cornbread stuffing is used inside many Thanksgiving turkeys.
Understandably, because it’s such a staple, it’s something that you want to be able to get right every time and not have to contend with cornbread that’s uncooked in the center.
We’re going to look specifically at how to make baked cornbread that’s perfectly cooked all the way through. We’ll leave the fried and steamed versions for another article.
How to make good cornbread every time
- Good cornbread has a wonderfully crispy crust and a creamy but cooked, crumbly center. You will not achieve this easily if you attempt to make a big, high loaf. Rather, aim to make a bigger, wider, cornbread that rises only about an inch high. This is done by using a greased cast-iron skillet or shallow baking dish in the oven. Do not attempt to make it in a loaf tin.
- Besides a well-seasoned skillet or oiled dish, you need a good recipe with the right ratios of ingredients. You are aiming for a thick but pourable batter – something the consistency of pancake batter. You should be able to tip the mixing bowl and pour the batter into the skillet. Moist pourable batter equals moist cornbread.
- You also need the right cornmeal. Don’t worry too much about the brand, just look for the right texture. Coarse yellow cornmeal doesn’t make the best bread. Fine white cornmeal does. It should say, “finely ground” on the packaging.
- You’re going to need full-fat buttermilk rather than plain milk. If you don’t have any, mix some plain yogurt into your milk. The acidity in it helps to activate the raising agent plus gives the right flavor.
- Depending on whether you want to make southern cornbread or the northern, cakier version will determine whether or not you use eggs and sugar. Southerners don’t usually use them.
- Don’t put too much batter in the skillet. Too much will result in your cornbread being too thick with an increased risk of the middle not being cooked. Check your recipe – you need a batter with about one and a half cups of cornmeal for a 12-inch skillet. Any more will be too much.
- If you find your cornbread is too crumbly and falls apart, your recipe needs more flour and perhaps an egg or two.
- Grease the skillet with bacon fat, lard, or your choice of oil. Heat it in a very hot oven. The batter only gets poured in once the skillet is super-hot and sizzling. Once the batter is in, put the whole thing into the oven straight away.
- To check if the bread is cooked, when the timer goes off, open the oven a crack and insert a metal skewer into the center. As with a cake, if it comes out clean, your bread is done. If it comes out with batter on, give it another five minutes before testing again.
Cornbread Not Cooked in the Middle
Troubleshooting for Uncooked Center in Cornbread
- Try cooking the bread at a slightly lower temperature. This will give the middle time to cook before the crust gets too dark.
- If your crust is already dark enough but the middle still isn’t cooked, cover the top with a piece of aluminum foil. This acts as a lid, stopping the crust from browning further but allowing the center to steam and cook.
- Check your recipe and batter consistency. If it has too much liquid in the form of milk, buttermilk, or butter, the bread will be doughy and too wet no matter how long you cook it.
Try one of our tried and tested recipes. The one is for a true southern-style bread while the other is for a more cake-like, sweeter bread.
Traditional-Style Southern Cornbread
- 2 tablespoons bacon fat or lard
- 1 ¾ cups self-rising cornmeal – the fine, white variety
- Pinch of salt
- 1 ½ cups full-fat buttermilk
- ¼ cup white bread flour
- ¼ cup melted butter
You Do:
- Preheat the oven to 450˚F with the oven rack in the center.
- Put the bacon fat into a 12-inch diameter cast-iron skillet and heat it in the oven as it preheats.
- Use a big bowl and mix the cornmeal, flour, and salt.
- Stir in the buttermilk and melted butter until you have a smooth, creamy, pourable batter.
- When the oven is up to temperature, remove the skillet carefully and pour the batter in.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the cornbread is brown. You want it darker rather than lighter.
- Remove the skillet from the oven, run a knife around the edges, and turn it out onto a wooden board.
- Cut the bread into wedges while still hot and serve with butter, molasses, honey, or whatever takes your fancy.
Northern-Style Cornbread
- 1 cup cake flour
- ½ cup fine white cornmeal
- ½ cup sugar
- ¾ tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup melted butter
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
You Do:
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F and put the rack in the center.
- Grease a shallow, rectangular oven dish.
- Use a big bowl and mix the dry ingredients together.
- In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until you have a smooth, thickly pourable batter. You may need to add a little more buttermilk.
- Pour the batter into the prepared dish and bake for about 30-40 minutes until a skewer put into the center comes out clean.
- If it has batter on, cook the bread for a little longer.
- Remove from the oven and cool it in the dish for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving warm.
- Serve with butter and honey.
- It will keep in an airtight container for a week in the fridge.