This Martha White Cornbread Recipe Will Have You Coming Back for More

The quintessential Southern dish, cornbread is lightly sweet and fluffy. It works great as an appetizer or a side dish, and it’s the perfect answer when the midnight cravings come knocking on the door. And when it comes to cornbread, seriously, what’s better than Martha White? If you’re planning to make it from scratch, this Marta White cornbread recipe is the best. It’s also great for beginners. The ingredients are fairly accessible and are pantry staples. You have great room for flexibility and little to no preparation time.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Tips
• Martha White Cornbread Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients

• Egg — 1 pc., large.
• Buttermilk — 1 ½ cups.
• Oil — ⅓ cup.
• Baking powder — 1 tbsp.
• Martha White Corn Meal mix — 2 cups.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. Lightly grease a baking dish with oil, and place it in the oven to heat it.

3. Whisk the egg in a mixing bowl.

4. Add the oil, cornmeal mix, and buttermilk.

5. Mix well until combined. The texture should be smooth without any lumps.

6. Pour the batter into the baking dish.

7. Bake for up to half an hour, until it turns golden brown.

Substitutions

• Cooking oil — Keep in mind that every cooking oil has a smoke point, and after that the oil just becomes unstable, releasing free radicals. Thus, you should choose an oil with a high smoke point. Olive oil makes a good case, but you can choose coconut oil, and canola, with an even higher smoke point. Though it lacks flavor, avocado oil works great too.

• Baking powder — For our delicious Martha White cornbread recipe, baking powder is more than ideal. When baking powder interacts with buttermilk, it gives your cornbread a good rise. If you’re short on baking powder, you can simply buy a self-rising cornmeal mix, which includes baking powder in it. Another solution would be to combine baking soda with buttermilk, which will still give your cornbread a good rise. Finally, if you have some cream of tartar lying around, simply mix it with cornstarch and baking soda to replace baking powder.

• Buttermilk — As mentioned above, buttermilk is a must in any cornbread recipe. Buttermilk, thanks to its acidity, reacts with the baking powder, and the result will be smooth and tangy, with a light texture. If you have no buttermilk, try this to replicate. Swiftly mix ¾ cup of milk with 1 tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar. However, if you’ll be using vinegar, make sure to pick one that won’t overpower your mix. Something milder would be better, like rice vinegar.

• Martha White Corn Meal mix — An iconic name and brand, Martha White cornmeal mix is the base ingredient of this recipe. There are many different versions available, like a self-rising mix, for example, which eliminates the need for baking powder. But while browsing the store, you might notice there are two similar, but different corn meal mixes, white and yellow. Honestly, they are pretty much the same and you can go with either. The main difference is their color. If you’re one of those who’d rather stay true to the origins of any recipe, we’d recommend going with the white cornmeal mix.

Variations

• Gluten-free — Regardless, this delicious Southern dish can still be enjoyed gluten-free. This cornbread recipe uses Martha White cornmeal mix, and it contains traces of gluten, though. Next time you’re out shopping, try to look for the Martha White gluten-free mix, which should be available at most stores.

Equipment

• Mixing bowl.

• Measuring cups and spoons.

• Whisk.

• Oven.

• 9 x 13 baking dish.

Storage

• Once your Martha White cornbread has cooled completely, wrap it in aluminum foil, or plastic wrap.

• Transfer it to your pantry, or a cool, dark shelf, away from sunlight, or it’ll just go stale.

• The cornbread will last for a few days at most. Once you observe mold or just a bad smell, throw it away.

• To freeze, put the cornbread in a plastic bag and place it in your freezer. It’ll last for up to 2-3 months.

Tips

• Cool the egg — Keep in mind that your egg should be at least at room temperature, which would make your cornbread fluffier and smoother.

• Make ahead — Short on time? This cornbread Martha White recipe can be done ahead. Simply prepare the batter and store it in your fridge. You can bake the batter in the following days, for up to a week at most.