not-too-sweet and somewhat onion-y cornbread
I should love cornbread. Most of the time, I don't. Here's the simple recipe that solved my internal cornbread conflict.
Lately: I’m cooking again! A lot! Spurred on, I think, by the start of my adventures with sourdough baking, plus a good re-stock of my pantry. Here are some recipes I’ve been loving lately: There’s NYT Cooking’s chopped wedge salad — though this week, instead of using mayo in the dressing, I used a single raw egg yolk, and it was even better. I also added some grilled chicken. I also made this creamy coconut-lime rice with peanuts (also from NYT Cooking) for the second time earlier this week and think it may have earned a spot in the regular rotation. And this recipe for sourdough rolls, which I landed on thanks 100 percent to SEO and laziness, is actually great. I’ve also been experimenting with sourdough loaves, and this recipe yielded the best results of the three I’ve tried so far.
not-too-sweet and somewhat onion-y cornbread
adapted from Melissa Clark’s brown butter skillet cornbread in New York Times Cooking
active time: 20 minutes
total time: 55 minutes
I’ve always had a complicated relationship with cornbread. I adore corn. I love bread. There is no greater end to a meal then using a piece of carbohydrate to soak up some amount of accumulated juices — an activity for which cornbread seems specifically engineered. I should be its biggest fan, then. I should proselytize its virtues far and wide.
Instead, I find myself disliking as much cornbread as I like, most often because the slab of carbs I’ve been served is either too sweet or too dry or occasionally too fussy. A few months ago, I baked Claire Saffitz’s loaded cornbread, which was studded with all kinds of goodness (bacon, actual corn kernels, peppers) and simply too much for me. Still determined to keep baking a dish I often don’t like, I swung next in the other direction, making a batch of Melissa Clark’s brown butter skillet cornbread. It was as simple as cornbread comes, and I managed to snatch it out of the oven at the exact moment it melded from underdone to perfectly moist. The edges were crispy. I liked it — but again, I found it too sweet.
Enter this recipe, which draws some inspiration from Saffitz’s — stick something savory in your cornbread, and it’s bound to be better — but follows Clark’s general principles, with a bit less sweetener. If you suffer from my same cornbread affliction, consider it the cure.
Ingredients:
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) / 170 grams unsalted butter
â…“ cup chopped green onions, white and light green parts only (3-4 green onions)
¼ cup + 3 tablespoons / 105 ml maple syrup
2¼ cups / 530 ml buttermilk
3 large eggs
1½ cups / 180 grams yellow cornmeal, fine or medium-coarse grind
½ cup / 65 grams whole wheat flour
½ cup / 60 grams all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon + 1½ teaspoons baking powder
1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions:
Heat your oven to 375 degrees. In an 11-inch cast-iron skillet (a 12-inch skillet will work, too — but it’ll bake faster and make for a slightly flatter slice), melt the butter on the stovetop over medium heat. As soon as the butter is melted, add the green onions, stirring to incorporate. Cook, stirring occasionally; it will grow foamy and the foam eventually subside, leaving behind browned butter with a nutty smell. The onions will be soft and somewhat translucent, though some will also brown in the butter. (Keep a close eye on the butter so that it doesn’t burn. Browning in this case should take between 5 and 7 minutes.)
Remove the skillet from the heat, and pour the butter and onions into a large bowl. Don’t bother to wipe out the skillet, even if a few pieces of onion remain.
To the bowl with the butter, add the maple syrup and the buttermilk, whisking to combine. Then, using a wooden spoon, stir in the cornmeal, flours, baking powder, salt and baking soda — combining just until there are no more streaks or clumps of white.
Using the same wooden spoon, scrape the batter back into the cast-iron pan. It will still be warm (that’s a good thing!), so be careful not to touch it with your bare hand.
Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
