Cornmeal cornbread is a fantastic complement to a hearty meal. Traditionally served for Thanksgiving, I find it incredibly suited year round. Entirely gluten free, it is an excellent option for gluten intolerant guests. I baked my first loaf last year precisely because it is gluten free! I had ran out of gluten-free flour and needed to cater to people with gluten intolerance. There was almond meal at home, but any type of nuts was banned from the workplace so that was not an option. My last card was cornmeal. So I figured that a nice loaf of cornbread was better than nothing.
Before baking my own loaf I had had a generous share of cornmeal at the Thanksgiving party at the workplace. As a person born and raised in northern Italy, to me corn has only one form: polenta. I love polenta. So when I tasted cornbread I was pleasantly surprised to find the taste of polenta combined with the texture of a cake. A baked good that tasted like polenta.
I didn’t think I’d have the chance to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, since I don’t have a bunch of American and Canadian colleagues anymore. But my boyfriend does. We got invited to a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner at one of his colleagues’ place. So I had my share of delicious turkey once again! I was not asked to bring anything, so I didn’t bake a new loaf of cornmeal cornbread for that occasion. I made it for another time.
Cornmeal cornbread recipe
- 250 g cornmeal
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 400 ml milk
- 1 tbsp honey
- 40 g butter
Melt the butter and set aside. In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt and baking powder. In another bowl whisk the eggs, then mix in milk, honey and melted butter. Pour cornmeal mixture into the other bowl and stir to combine. Leave for a few minutes in order for it to thicken. Pour cornbread batter into a loaf pan lined with baking paper and bake in the preheated oven at 220°C for 30 minutes.
This recipe is a slight adaptation (suited to my type of cornmeal and “translated” into the metric system) from the one found on Plan to Eat. I was a little suspicious at first, but when I took out a perfectly baked loaf I had to acknowledge that it actually worked out fine.
The best feature about this cornmeal is its full taste. The perfect balance of salt and honey keep it very neutral, so it’s a perfect accompaniment to all kinds of dishes. I remember having it at the Thanksgiving dinner along with the turkey, but I ate a slice of this one with strawberry jam and it tasted just as delicious. So go ahead and bake yourself a nice loaf of polenta cornbread anytime.
Just one side note. This bread is not made with polenta per se. I used a finer cornmeal than the one I use for polenta, more like actual corn flour. Haven’t tried making it with actual polenta, but I am guessing it might not absorbe the milk equally well, potentially resulting in a gritty loaf. So the finer the cornmeal, the better, I think.
I wonder what cornmeal is best… Coarse or fine ?
I used fine. I generally make polenta from coarse, while for this bread I used a cornmeal that had the texture of flour rather than that of semolina.
What is conversion of all ingredients
Hey Rosie! I recommend that you find a converter on google so you can get the quantities suited to the kind of measurement you need.
Hey, I just made this and it’s absolutely delicious! Just wondering if you’ve tried any variations of this with yeast rather than baking powder? I’m gluten free and thrilled to find something I can make with no flour substitutes, but find I can often ‘taste’ the baking powder flavour in non-yeast mixes so am keen to explore
Hi Anita! Thank you very much for taking the time to leave me a comment. It’s always great to hear from someone who has enjoyed a recipe I have here! I have unfortunately not tried making this with yeast, so I have no expertise to share. I’m really sorry about that.
Hi! Do you think this recipe could be cooked in any dish other than a loaf pan? Do you think that would change the oven temperature and cooking time?
Hi Ellen! I think you can use a different pan, like a round cake pan without problems. I myself often bake muffin recipes in a small round pan and it usually works. I wouldn’t change the oven temperature as that is optimal for this batter, but the time definitely needs to be adjusted. Like, when I make my muffin recipe in a single pan, baking time goes from 20 to 45 minutes, since it’s much more. Same if you were to bake this batter into a muffin tin, then baking time would need to be shortened. So keep an eye as it bakes to adjust baking time, but keep the same oven temperature. Good luck!
Hi Eva,
Will this recipe work with Polenta, instead of cornmeal?
Thanks!
Hi Richelle, If you have the instant Polenta flour (the one that makes polenta in a few minutes), then I’m afraid it will not be the same thing because the composition of instant Polenta flour is different than regular cornmeal.