About This Recipe

What is Cornbread?

Cornbread is a type of bread popular in the United States, particularly in the South. It is made from ingredients like flour, eggs, milk or buttermilk, baking powder, and sometimes sugar or honey for sweetness. It can be baked in a skillet, a muffin pan, or a baking dish. It is typically served as a side dish with meals such as: chili, barbecue, or fried chicken. It has a slightly crumbly texture and a light and sweet nutty flavor from the cornmeal. Inclusions such as jalapeños, cheese, or bacon can be added for fun and unique flavors.

What is meant by "Southern-Style"?

“Southern-Style” cornbread is a specific type of cornbread made with little to no flour (cornmeal is the star of the show) and without added sugar. The texture is a bit more gritty and nutty and the bread is not sweet in the slightest. Southern cornbread usually features buttermilk and may use bacon fat as a component of the recipe. It is also typically cooked in a preheated cast-iron skillet for added crispness along the edges.

What is unique about this recipe?

This recipe is a mash-up of Southern cornbread and beginner sourdough. Active sourdough starter is the leaven, meaning it is not a quick bread and does not use baking powder or soda. I took the concept of my beginner batter bread recipe and applied it to cornbread. This recipe can even be made gluten-free by simply using a gluten-free starter. I added inclusions, onion and cheddar cheese, for an even better flavor and chose muffins over a preheated skillet for the simple fact that this batter needs time to rest and rise before it can be baked.

What I love about this recipe:

I love that this recipe is a mesh between quick cornbread and slow sourdough. Though these muffins need time to ferment, they are easy to whip up and they bake in no time. The addition of cheese and onions really nails the flavor profile, which pairs perfectly with any of your favorite cornbread companions.

Why this recipe works

Buttermilk

I use buttermilk for the delicious flavor and moisture that it adds to these corn muffins. Regular milk works as well, but buttermilk really tops everything off.

Sourdough Starter

This recipe requires active sourdough starter, rather than discard. This is not a discard recipe, rather more like a beginner sourdough bread recipe. I do not use baking powder or soda to leaven, so proper fermentation is needed before the muffins can be baked in the oven.

Eggs

Eggs provide a few important benefits to these muffins. First, they provide moisture to the batter and keep the final bake from drying out. Second, they yield a fluffier, cake-like texture, one that could not be achieved by using other ingredients to provide the needed moisture. Though I would not describe these muffins as “cake-like” (since the cornmeal provides grit), the eggs do help the texture overall. Last, the eggs (in addition to proper fermentation, of course) help these muffins to rise taller and more beautifully in the oven.

Butter

Butter is an absolutely essential component that keeps the muffins from drying out. I chose butter to compliment the flavors present from other ingredients in the recipe, but it could be replaced 1:1 with a neutral oil, if desired.

Fermentation

Proper fermentation is essential to the perfect sourdough corn muffins, though these muffins are simple and difficult to ferment all at once. The timing is exactly the same as the timing for my beginner batter bread. If you know how long it takes batter bread to ferment in your home, apply the same timing to these muffins. The problem is that cornmeal is a gluten-free grain. Certain gluten-free grains do not rise much, if at all, and cornmeal is one of them. Because there is no added wheat flour in this recipe, there is hardly any rise that occurs before the final oven spring. Visual cues cannot be used to determine if these muffins are proofed properly; rather, a knowledge of the fermenting environment and typical timing is necessary.

Baking Method

These bake at 425 F for only fifteen minutes and can be enjoyed fresh from the oven. The high oven temperature helps provide the perfect oven spring and completes baking in no time.

Suggested Baking Timeline

10 AM

+Chop onions and shred cheese

+Mix the ingredients

+Divide into 12 muffins

10:15 AM

+Ferment

4 PM

+Bake and enjoy! (Just in time for supper!)

FAQs

Can I change up the inclusions?

Of course! Feel free to play around with whatever inclusions you like. Keep in mind that certain ingredients, such as jalapeños, can hinder fermentation, which is difficult to judge in this recipe. Trial and error will be your best friend. I’d love to know what inclusions worked out nicely for you down in the comment section!

How can I make this recipe gluten-free?

This recipe can easily be made gluten-free by simply using a gluten-free sourdough starter. I recommend a sourdough starter made with a neutral flour or flour blend, or something that would pair well with corn, such as: rice flour, sorghum flour, or even a mild nut flour, like almond flour. A starter made with buckwheat or chickpea flour would add an odd flavor to this recipe. If needed, take a teaspoon of gluten-free starter and feed it 58 g of a neutral, gluten-free flour (or even cornmeal) and 58 g of water twelve hours before beginning this recipe. Use all of the mixture in the recipe.

What if I like a sweet corn muffin? Can I add sugar?

Yes. Southern-style cornbread or muffins are typically not sweet, but if you prefer your corn muffins to be sweet you can add sugar. I would recommend starting with 1/4 cup of white sugar or honey. You can increase or decrease the amount depending on personal preference. Be sure to note that adding sugar will increase fermentation time.

What kind of cornmeal should I use?

Any kind of cornmeal will work, though I do recommend weighing your ingredients for the most accurate measurements, since cornmeal can come in a variety of sizes. I am using generic yellow cornmeal in this recipe and recipe video, as that is what is most accessible in my area. Stone-ground cornmeal, if you can find it, is more typical for a Southern cornbread or muffin, and would be really good in this recipe.

Southern-Style Corn Muffins

Recipe by Caitlin VincentCourse: Lunch, Supper, Snack, SideCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Beginner

Prep time

minutes

Resting Time

3-6

hours

Baking Time

minutes

Yield

muffins

Ingredients

180 g buttermilk (¾ cup)
115 g active starter (½ cup)
2 eggs (50 g each)
½ stick (57 g) butter (¼ cup) - melted and cooled
280 g cornmeal (1 ½ cups)
10 g salt (1 ½ tsp)
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (100 g or 3.5 ounces)
½ small onion, chopped (about 100 g or ½ cup)

Directions

Grease or line a 12-cup muffin pan.
Mix: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the buttermilk, active starter, eggs, and melted butter.
Add the cornmeal and salt to the bowl and mix well.
Stir in the cheddar cheese and chopped onion.
Divide evenly among the prepared muffin cups. The batter should fill the cups just to the top.
Rest at room temperature 3-8 hours, depending on the warmth in the room. The muffins will not look much different when they are ready for the oven, due to a lack of rise from the gluten-free cornmeal. They may form a dome on top; if this happens, it is time to bake right away. The timing for this recipe is the exact same as the timing for Batter Bread, which (for me) is approximately six hours at a room temperature of 70 F.
Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy!
How to store: Store muffins in the refrigerator 5-7 days, or in the freezer.
To reheat: Microwave in 30 second intervals (wrapped in a damp paper towel) until warmed through. Alternatively, reheat in a 350 F oven (wrapped in aluminum foil) for 5-10 minutes (or up to 15 minutes from frozen), until warmed through.