The perfect sourdough cornbread! This cornbread is soft and sweet, with crisp edges and a great cornmeal texture.
Photography by Alexandra Daum.
Though this recipe is excellent without the sourdough discard, it adds a pleasant undertone that really separates it from other cornbread recipes. So if you’re drowning in discard from your sourdough starter, this is a good way to use it.
This is a slightly sweet, more cake-like cornbread, perfect to serve alongside spicy chili, soups, and stews, but it makes a great snack, too! Serve with a pat of butter for a delicious side.
Ingredients
Method
Tips and Notes
Use either an 8-inch (20cm) square baking dish here as pictured, or an 8-inch (20cm) diameter round dish. If your container is a bit larger or smaller, that’ll be fine too – just adjust the baking time accordingly.
We haven’t tried making this gluten free or vegan, but you can try adapting our vegan skillet cornbread. A GF flour blend would probably work if you have gluten-free starter.
Using room temperature ingredients is important, especially for the wet ingredients. Cold milk and eggs will cause the melted butter to harden and can curdle the cornbread batter, resulting in a patchy dry/wet bread.
This freezes well. Cut into pieces and freeze in an airtight container for up to two months. To thaw, simply set out at room temperature for about 4 hours until thawed completely.
It is possible to use active sourdough starter for this recipe. In that case, I recommend weighing it rather than using cup measurements as it takes up less space than discard does.
Substitutions
You can make a dairy-free sourdough cornbread by using a good non-dairy milk and vegan butter. We recommend a creamy milk like soya and a good vegan butter that comes in block form – Miyoko’s and Naturli are both great.
Whole wheat pastry flour can replace white flour if you want a more wholesome bake. Regular whole wheat flour will make it too heavy but you can replace up to 25% of the white flour with whole grain.
If using unsalted butter, increase the added salt amount to ½ teaspoon.
More Sourdough Discard Recipes
Chocolate Sourdough Cake
Sourdough Biscuits
Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sourdough Crackers with homemade za’atar
If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.
Recipe
Sourdough Cornbread
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- 8-inch (20cm) square tin
- Whisk
- 2 Mixing bowls
- Spatula
- Wire rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup cornmeal, lightly packed, if using cups
- 1 cup white all-purpose flour
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- ½ cup butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and grease an 8-inch (20cm) square tin with butter.
- Start by making the buttermilk. Mix the milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to sour for 10 minutes.
- Add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and make a well in the centre. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk the egg until frothy. Add the starter, melted butter, and buttermilk. Whisk to combine.
- Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until just mixed. Don't over mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin. It is quite liquid, like a thin cake batter.
- Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until the top is golden and the edges have started to pull away from the sides of the tin.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the tin before removing and cooling fully on a wire rack. Store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze. Sourdough cornbread is best fresh.
Notes
Substitutions
You can make a dairy-free sourdough cornbread by using a good non-dairy milk and vegan butter. We recommend a creamy milk like soya and a good vegan butter that comes in block form – Miyoko’s and Naturli are both great. Whole wheat pastry flour can replace white flour if you want a more wholesome bake. Regular whole wheat flour will make it too heavy but you can replace up to 25% of the white flour with whole grain. If using unsalted butter, increase the added salt amount to ½ teaspoon.Nutrition
This post was first shared in June 2020. It has been updated with improvements to the recipe as of March 2022.
Katherine Fligg says
I made this last night and now I have questions, please. The batter was super thick so added some buttermilk and then added some olive oil. That seemed to help get the consistency to what I’m used to, but the end result was that it was super flaky and fell apart upon cutting. Is milk supposed to be part of the recipe? Or is the batter supposed to be really thick, like cookie dough batter? Help! The flavor was amazing and my kids enjoyed it so I really want to make this again. Thanks.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Katherine, there shouldn’t be milk in this recipe, as it’s made up by using the honey and sourdough discard (and as there’s so little flour). The batter should be relatively thick but not overly so, definitely not like cookie dough. Did you change anything in the recipe? That would help to troubleshoot!
Patricia McHold says
Taste was delicious but the center never cooked
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Patricia, glad you liked the taste. If the centre was undercooked, try baking for a few more minutes than the recipe specifies, until it’s set. Oven temperatures and types vary so it’s always good to check yourself and alter times slightly to suit your kitchen.
Cammie says
My batter was also extremely thick, almost crumbly, despite using super runny discard and honey. It definitely needed some kind of liquid addition. I may incorporate the browned butter technique into a different recipe because I love anything with brown butter, but this recipe didn’t work for me.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Cammie, did you make any changes to the recipe? Altering the flour type, for example, or omitting eggs? Substitutions would cause the thick and crumbly batter issue you mention.
Roxanne says
I made this for lunch today and it was really delicious! Mine was more runny than thick.
I checked the center and it needed extra time to cook. I only had a glass 8 by 8 pan.
Do you think I could use a iron skillet! That is what I usually make my cornbread in.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Roxanne, the longer baking time will be due to using glass, which conducts heat different from metal. I think you could make it in cast iron but would probably have to preheat the pan – just treat it as you would usually make your cornbread, though, and it should be fine!