Fluffy Sourdough Cornbread
on Jul 07, 2020, Updated Jul 17, 2024
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Soft, fluffy, and perfectly crumbly and moist, this sourdough cornbread recipe creates a lightly tart cornbread with the perfect touch of sweetness and grit.
Love cornbread AND sourdough bread? This is the combo recipe of your dreams! It’s super easy and flexible for your baking (and enjoying) pleasure. You should also try my Sourdough Starter, and my Cornbread!
Okay, my friends. This is peak carb heaven for those of us who are sourdough fans/cornbread fans/bread-in-general fans. (I mean, I’m hoping that’s all of us!) This recipe is pure joy in a skillet. If you like those tart, sour-ish flavors of sourdough and the crumbly, moist, slightly sweet, slightly buttery characteristics of cornbread… Prepare to have your life changed in the best way by this sourdough cornbread recipe!
I love this recipe so much because it’s totally flexible with your timeline and ingredients. You can use discard for a more sour taste or mature sourdough starter if that’s what you want to use. You can let the dough sit to develop stronger sour flavors, or not if you don’t have the time. It’s really up to you — think of it as a choose your own sourdough cornbread adventure! And an adventure it will be. 🙂
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents
Ingredients:
Sourdough starter: You can use the mature starter for a milder sourdough taste or the discard for stronger sour flavor.
Buttermilk: Buttermilk creates a moist, rich bread. You can make your own buttermilk using milk and vinegar or lemon juice; see the note in the recipe card for more info!
Cornmeal: Cornmeal adds the gritty, granular, golden elements or the cornbread.
Flour: Flour helps all the ingredients come and stay together.
Eggs: Eggs act as a liquid and binder for the dough.
Sugar: Sugar adds that tinge of sweetness necessary in cornbread!
Salt: Salt will help to balance the sour, sweet, and savory flavors.
Butter: Butter is necessary for a rich, warm, moist cornbread flavor and texture.
Baking soda and powder: These baking staples help the bread get nice and fluffy.
See recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
Tips for the Best Sourdough Cornbread:
There’s not much you can do to mess up sourdough cornbread. Keep these tips and tricks in mind as you bake it!
- Use sourdough discard for a stronger sour flavor: This recipe is flexible in that you can use a mature sourdough starter or discard. Using the discard will create a stronger sourdough taste.
- You don’t NEED to let the dough rest: It’s optional to allow the sourdough starter, milk, cornmeal, and flour rest for 1 to 2 hours if you want a stronger sour flavor. If your short on time or don’t mind a milder flavor, skip this part.
- Use a toothpick to tell when it’s done: Insert a toothpick after the bread has baked for 35 to 40 minutes and it’s golden-brown on top. If it comes out clean, the bread is done.
What to Serve With This Cornbread:
You can’t go wrong serving sourdough cornbread with simply generous amounts of butter and honey. It’s great plain and simple, just like that. You can also serve it with:
- Chunky or spicy soups or stews (chili, chicken tortilla soup, lentil stew etc.)
- Barbecued meat (ribs, brisket, or pulled pork are great)
- Any Southern dishes (hot chicken, shrimp and grits, etc.)
- Eggs and bacon, veggie frittata, or other savory breakfast meals
Frequently Asked Questions:
Sourdough cornbread tastes like regular cornbread (soft, moist, crumbly, subtly sweet, buttery, a little grainy) with a sour element to the flavor akin to sourdough bread! To make the sour flavor stronger, let the starter, milk, cornmeal, and flour rest for 1 to 2 hours AND use discard rather than mature starter.
You need a sourdough starter and a few more baking ingredients to make sourdough cornbread!
You can cover the cornbread dish it baked in once it’s cooled with plastic wrap or foil. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Otherwise, if you’ve cooked it in the cast iron, especially, store in an airtight container for the same amount of time.
Yes! Cover with plastic wrap or in an airtight container for up to 4 months. To thaw, leave in the fridge overnight and reheat in the microwave for a minute or in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F
More Sourdough Recipes to Enjoy:
Sourdough Recipes
Chocolate Chip Sourdough Bread
From Scratch Recipes
Overnight Sourdough Muffins
Sourdough Recipes
Sourdough Banana Bread
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Fluffy Sourdough Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter, discard or fed
- 1 cup buttermilk*
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Mix the sourdough starter, milk, cornmeal, and flour together in a medium mixing bowl. At this point, you can cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and set the mixture aside at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours to help it develop a more sour flavor, or you can go right into adding the other ingredients. It’s very flexible and can work with your taste preferences and schedule. Do not let it rest more than 2 hours at room temperature, though.
- When you are ready to move forward with making the cornbread after your chosen timing, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., and spray a 9-inch baking dish, cast iron skillet, or a round pie plate well with cooking spray (or butter it well).
- Add the eggs, sugar, salt, and butter to the flour mixture, and stir to combine.
- Add the baking powder and baking soda, and stir.
- Add the batter to the prepared pan, and smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Bake in the hot oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden-brown and the middle is cooked through. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.
- Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving hot with additional butter and honey to taste.
Notes
- *You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to a 1 cup measuring cup, and then filling the rest of the cup up with milk. Allow the mixture to rest for 10 minutes before using.
- This recipe is very flexible when it comes to timing and if you are using a mature starter or a sourdough starter discard. Using the discard will produce a more sour cornbread, as will a longer resting time.
I make this weekly in the winter time!! And I tell my family that this is what I want for my birthday cake it’s that good 😆
It turned out very good.
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As written it would likely have been a tad to sweet for us, but followed lead of another reviewer and decreased sugar to 2Tbsp. Kept the full 1/2 cup of butter but can see that likely 1/4 cup would be ok. Baked in a 9 x13 and it was thick enough. Great use for my discard!
I didn’t have time to let this sit and ferment, but it turned out sooooo yummy! I baked it in a 9×9 pan, and it was nice and thick and delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Do you know how much and any other adjustments I might need to make if I use a gluten free all purpose flour and honey instead of sugar?
I’d just to 1:1 swaps if I were using those. I’d love to hear how it turns out!
I love this recipe! It’s a great way to use sourdough discard, and we actually like it even more than we like the cornbread (w/out discard) that we used to make. Over time I’ve tweaked it a bit: I use just 2 tablespoons of sugar; and 1/4 cup melted butter or oil. Also, sometimes I bake it in a 9×13 pan instead of a 9″ round one. It’s always delicious.
Thought this was a fantastic recipe! The whole family loved it😁
Really good cornbread and a great way to use sourdough discard! I did use almond/coconut milk with vinegar for the buttermilk and I highly recommend putting some sugar on the top and using a blow torch just for some added fun!
Thank you for posting a picture! I think it’s so helpful and fun. And the sugar on top is such a great idea, thank you for sharing. It looks amazing!