Cornbread: why so dry and blah?

How to make cornbread that's moist and tasty!

Problem: dry cornbread

Many people say:

“Cornbread is too dry and crumbly!”

What can you do to make cornbread that’s tasty and moist?

How to make moister cornbread!

Use whole grain cornmeal

Most cornmeal that’s on the shelves of grocery stores is degerminated cornmeal, which means that the germ of the corn has been removed, usually along with the bran and the endosperm. This makes cornmeal that is like white flour, as compared to whole wheat flour.

Removing the germ and bran makes the cornmeal softer and gives it a more uniform flavor. It also makes it more shelf-stable, because the germ contains oils that can go bad (rancid). However, removing the oil removes much of the richness along with a lot of the flavor.

Look for cornmeal labeled “Whole Grain.” Even better, stone-ground whole grain corn has been traditionally ground, which gives the best flavor and and makes the moistest cornbread. Ask around in your area to find out if there is anyone local who grinds cornmeal, because local means fresh, and fresh is always better!

Don’t overbake

People often overbake cornbread. It’s easy to do!

Sometimes it only takes an extra minute or two in the oven to turn good cornbread into dry crumbly cornbread.

So, how do you know when it’s done? Well it takes a little practice to learn when cornbread is perfectly baked. A recipe will usually list a range of times, like 20-25 minutes. How do you know exactly when to take it out of the oven?

You want the edges of the cornbread to be starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and it should be just beginning to brown on top. If you gently press in the middle of the cornbread with one finger, it should spring back. You can also use a thin skewer or cake tester, inserted in the middle. It should come out clean, or with a couple of crumbs attached.

Eat it soon

People try to keep cornbread too long, and it dries out quickly. It’s best to only bake what you and your table-mates can eat in a single meal. You can keep leftovers in a tightly sealed dish at room temperature, or freeze them. However, they will be much more dry and crumbly even just a few hours after coming out of the oven.

You can improve leftover cornbread by dousing it with butter, buttermilk, bacon, soupy beans or other foods that will rehydrate it. Leftover cornbread also makes great croutons!

CORNY JOKE!

Q: What did the corn say when she got a compliment?

A: AWWWWW SHUCKS!

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Feedback welcomed!

Please share your ideas on how to make better cornbread in the comments section. You can also suggest future topics you would like me to explore or ask questions. I’ll try my best to find answers!

More reading on this topic:

https://www.finecooking.com/article/which-cornmeal-is-which

https://blogs.extension.iastate.edu/spendsmart/2013/07/29/is-corn-a-whole-grain/