I found a tiny newspaper clipping in my great grandmother's cookbook for Sour Milk Corn Cake. It sounded interesting...I love old-fashioned cornbread!! This deliciously easy vintage old-fashioned cornbread recipe uses only a few simple ingredients, including buttermilk, whole grain flour, butter, and egg. It's a classic must-try recipe!
Easy Old-Fashioned Cornbread
I wanted to put my own twist on this classic favorite cornbread recipe. I used unbleached white wheat flour, whole cultured buttermilk, and a healthier butter substitute that uses a blend of olive oil and butter. You could just use half butter and half olive oil and not have to buy the blended butter. I would guess that this original old-fashioned cornbread recipe was from the early 1900s.
Most of my great-grandmother's cut-out recipes were newspaper and magazine clippings were from 1900-1920. How cool is it that I have this recipe collection from that time period?! These vintage recipes are a sacred treasure to have in my recipe collection.
The original cornbread recipe is simple and like many recipes of that time period, has no cooking time or temperatures. It was sink or swim in the kitchen back then, you had to figure this stuff out on your own with lots of trial and error or have a seasoned cook teach you their methods.
I decided to bake this cornbread recipe at the same time and temperature that I make regular cornbread. It turned out delicious. One thing that is definitely a must in the cooking process is baking in a cast-iron skillet! The skillet creates the best texture!
How To Make Old-Fashioned Cornbread from Scratch
Here is the original vintage recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup flour (I used King Arthur brand unbleached white wheat flour)
½ cup whole-grain cornmeal, medium grind
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole cultured buttermilk
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon melted butter (I used Land O'Lakes butter blend with olive oil) plus another tablespoon for the cast iron skillet
2 tablespoon sugar
1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Add beaten egg to flour mixture and stir. Stir in buttermilk and 1 tablespoon melted butter.
Stir until completely mixed.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter blend (or regular butter) in an 8" cast-iron skillet in the preheated oven. When butter is melted, but not browned, pour in batter.
Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until cornbread is set and baked through and lightly golden on top. Slice into triangles and serve.
I like to butter the top of my cornbread while it's still warm in the skillet, but that's definitely optional.
If you'd like tips on different add-ins to jazz up your cornbread recipe, there are some great ideas in this article on mix-ins and different cooking methods.
I love adding diced pickled jalapeños and sharp cheddar cheese to cornbread. So delicious! Especially with a big bowl of Italian Sausage Collard Green soup.
This also recipe pairs beautifully with a big bowl of Butternut Squash Chili or if hearty beef chili is more your thing, you definitely need to try this delicious Slow Cooker Brisket Chili!
Easy Old Fashioned Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached white wheat flour
- ½ cup whole grain corn meal
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole cultured buttermilk
- 2 tablespoon melted butter, separated I used a butter/olive oil blend
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Whisk together flour, corn meal, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add beaten egg to flour mixture and stir. Stir in buttermilk and 1 tablespoon melted butter until completely blended
- Place 1 tablespoon olive oil butter blend (or regular butter) in a small (8") cast iron skillet and transfer skillet to the preheated oven. When butter has melted but not browned, remove skillet from oven and pour batter into the skillet. Return skillet to the oven.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until cornbread is set and lightly golden on top. Slice into triangles and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
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Rivki Locker (Ordinary Blogger)
Wow, what a lovely 'vintage' recipe! Amazing what a classic this kind of dish is!
Kimby
One of my prized possessions is my Grandma's recipe box (and some of her cooking utensils!) This was a wonderful look back and a great "forward" adaptation of classic cornbread!
The Harried Cook
Wow... This sounds really good! I love that little clipping with the recipe.. Thanks for sharing this!
Amee
Thank you, ladies! Yes, this recipe is a treasure. I love experimenting with old recipes.
Lynn
I'm excited to try this with some raw (unpasteurized) Jersey cow milk I got from a local farm. I've use their milk for a while so trust the safety. I just didn't finish this bottle before it started souring. Can you please be more specific about the skillet size, and possibly give an alternative pan option? I have a 6", 8" or 10" cast iron skillet choice however it's easier to store leftover (I'm cooking for one) in an 8" or 9" square pan. Based on the photo with the butter pat, that looks like a 10" pan but does that count as small? Sorry to obsess but maybe other bakers wonder also. Thank you!
Amee Livingston
Hi Lynn! This is a great question and I'll be sure to add the pan size to the post. Thank you for asking! It's a 8" cast iron skillet.