Cornbread Loaf from Scratch

a square photo with cornbread. A white towel on top. Some slices cut off

This cornbread loaf recipe made from scratch is SUPER delicious. Homemade, airy, and it's got that unique golden color. When you're a bread-baking beginner, you'll be surprised by how easy this recipe is. And the result: a loaf of soft bread with a slightly sweet corn flavor and a crunchy crust. This bread has got the WOW factor. And you can bake it with the bread baking machine or bake the cornbread in the oven.

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 40

Rise time 3

Total Time 3 55

Course Bread Baking, Breakfast, Lunch

Cuisine Dutch

Servings slices

Calories 150 kcal

Equipment

A conventional oven is used. When using a convection oven (with air fan) decrease the temperature with 30 °F / 20 °C
Bread maker
Loaf pan
Handmixer

Ingredients

Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic

Instructions

Bake your cornbread with the bread baking machine (1 ½ pounds / 750 grams loaf)

Weigh and measure all the ingredients.
First, put all the liquids in the machine. After that, add both flours.
2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, 1¼ cups water, 1 teaspoon honey, 2 cups corn flour
Put the yeast in one corner and the salt in the opposite corner.
1¼ teaspoon yeast, 2 teaspoons salt
Turn the device on and let it bake until it's medium brown.

Knead and first rise with the bread baking machine (then bake in the oven)

Weigh and measure all the ingredients.
First, put all the liquids in the machine. After that, add both flours.
2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sunflower oil, 1¼ cups water, 1 teaspoon honey, 2 cups corn flour
Put the yeast in one corner and the salt in the opposite corner.
1¼ teaspoon yeast, 2 teaspoons salt
Turn the device on and let it knead and rise. Then go further with the second rise*

Bread baking in the oven, kneading by hand or mixer

Add the yeast and honey to the water and let it stand for 5 minutes. This step is optional for instant yeast. Dry yeast and fresh yeast should always be dissolved in water.
1¼ teaspoon yeast, 1 teaspoon honey, 1¼ cups water
Mix both the flours and the salt.
2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups corn flour, 2 teaspoons salt
Add the yeast mixture and the oil and mix it well with a wooden spoon.
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
Put the dough on a flat working bench and start kneading for about 15 minutes. Do it by hand or with a mixer at medium speed. The dough should feel a bit moist in the first 10 minutes. Don't add flour at that time because kneading the gluten in the dough stretch, and the dough will become a bit dryer. After 10 minutes, add plain flour when the dough is very wet.
Oil a bowl and put the dough in here. Turn it around once so the oil is on all sides. Put a wet towel on top and cover that with plastic foil.
Let it stand in a warm place for about 60 to 90 minutes. The dough should have doubled.

Second rise

Push the air out of the dough and roll it out to a square. The width should be the same size as the baking tin.
Let the dough rest for about 20 minutes.
Roll the dough and put it in the baking tin.
Put a wet towel on top, cover it with plastic foil, and let it stand for 60 minutes in a warm place.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 430 °F or 400 °F
Put a baking tray on the bottom or get a clean spray bottle with water. Before you put your dough in the oven, fill the tray with boiling water or spray the dough with water. The crust will get crispy by doing that.
Bake the bread in the oven for 40 minutes.
Knock at the bottom of the bread; if it sounds hollow, it's done. If it isn't ready, put it back (without the baking pan) in the oven for another 5 minutes and check again.
Let it rest for 5 minutes, and then let it cool further on a wire rack.

NOTES

1. Yeast - You can use for a cornbread loaf by hand or with a mixer all three sorts of yeast (dry, instant, or fresh). Make sure that when you use dry or fresh yeast, you first dissolve these in water and let them stand for a few minutes. When using a bread baking machine, I recommend instant yeast.

2. Sugar - The sugar added to your yeast mixture is yeast "food." They convert the sugar to oxygen, which makes your bread airy. Don't discard the sugar in that case. You can substitute it with maple syrup.

3. Salt - Keep the salt and yeast apart when starting. When using a bread baking machine, put it in opposite corners. And when mixing by hand, blend the salt into the flour before adding the yeast. Yeast will die when it comes in contact with pure salt.

4. Crust - You get a crispy crust by ensuring the oven is moist. When baking the bread, you can do that by putting an oven dish on the bottom, which you fill with boiling water. Or you can use a water diffuser and moisten the bread before baking.

5. Done - The bread is done when it sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom of the bread. Otherwise, you should extend the baking time by three minutes and check again.

6. Oven - When you use a conventional oven, set the temperature to 430 °F (220 °C). In a convection oven, 400 °F (200 °C) is sufficient.

7. Storage -

Usually, you'll eat the bread the same day because it will get stale.
The bread will stay fresh for up to 2 days in a special .
Don't store bread in the refrigerator. Because of the moisture in a fridge, the bread gets a different structure. That's not tasty.
Bread can be frozen quite well for up to two months. Take the bread from the freezer 3 hours before you're planning to eat it. If you want to eat your bread warmly, you bake it for 3 minutes at 350 °F (180 °C) (right out of the freezer).

8. The nutritional values given are per slice of bread.

Nutrition

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