Homestyle cornbread

There is never a bad time of year to whip up a pan of cornbread. It’s always well received at barbecues, but I especially like it in the autumn and winter. Cornbread is just the thing to accompany Thanksgiving leftovers or a hot bowl of chili.

My recipe is nondairy/pareve, but nobody can tell it’s missing butter and dairy milk. Over the years I played around quite a bit to get the soft, fluffy consistency just right.

This recipe only takes 5 minutes of prep time and can be mixed in one bowl by hand. It’s so easy to make from scratch that you’ll never need to buy a mix at the store again.

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Growing up, I always added butter or honey to my cornbread, but there’s no need with this recipe since it’s slightly sweeter than your average cornbread and the crumb is moist and fluffy.

Ingredients
Serves 9-12, depending on the size you cut the squares

1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup cornmeal
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup neutral oil
1 cup vegan milk — oat, almond, etc.
1 large egg plus 1 whole egg yolk, lightly whisked

Preheat your oven to 350 F and place the wire rack in the center.

Use an 8- or 9-inch square metal or glass pan for baking. Lightly grease the pan and line it in one direction with parchment paper. The parchment paper allows you to grab the edges and lift the cake easily out of the pan.

Add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine.

Stir in the sugar and your choice of vegan milk. I’m partial to unsweetened oat creamer, which is thicker and works well in place of whole milk for richness.

Lightly whisk one egg plus one egg yolk with a fork before adding it and the oil to the bowl.

Mix well by hand with a spatula until the oil is fully incorporated into batter.

Allow this to rest on the counter for 10 minutes. I enjoy the grainy texture of cornbread but some recipes are a bit too dry for my taste. This bit of rest allows the cornmeal to soak up some of the liquid and the end result is a cakey texture.

Once the bowl has rested, pour the mixture into a prepared pan. Tap the pan a few times against the counter to allow any air bubbles to release before baking the cornbread for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Be careful not to overbake. The edges should shrink slightly from the sides of the pan. You can start checking on this about 25 minutes into baking.

Once baked, remove the pan from the oven to cool.

After 15 minutes, lift the bread out of the pan using the parchment paper and set on a cutting board. You can cut and serve this warm or set it aside for later.

Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Enjoy and bless your hands! PJC

Jessica Grann is a home chef living in Pittsburgh.