Cornbread Recipe?

Hi everyone, I hope your holidays have been good so far!!

I am looking for an unsweetened cornbread recipe. I remembered to pick up some Semolina at the supermarket and thought I'd give cornbread a try. Now I can't find my grandma's recipe anywhere!!  The ones I find online all call for sugar or buttermilk or shortening - none of which I want to use. Her recipe is very plain, flour, cornmeal, plain milk ... that's all I remember, but I can't think of the quantities to use.

Does anyone have a good recipe they don't mind sharing?? Thanks in advance!

I don't really like sweet cornbread either. I grew up eating regular cornbread with no sugar and prefer it. Here's the recipe I've always used:

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (the recipe actually calls for bacon grease which I don't ever have and oil works fine)

Sift together the first 4 ingredients. Stir in the milk, egg and oil. Pour into a greased pan (I prefer a cast iron skillet). Bake at 425 for 25 minutes.

I remembered to pick up some Semolina at the supermarket and thought I'd give cornbread a try.

You do realize that semolina is wheat, not corn, right?

That said, my husband tried to use semolina instead of polenta in our Christmas cornbread. Good thing I was watching!

now I'm wondering what Cream of Wheat bread would taste like.  I love the cereal, but I don't think I'd like the bread so much.  I second the fact that it's polenta you need.

Good luck with the recipe.  I'd send one, but mine are all sweetened some.  Then I pile it high with honey butter to sweeten it even more--yum! 

Mine is sweet as well, but I don't see why you couldn't just leave the sugar out, frankly.  It's from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook.  I'll give you it sans sugar.

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 large eggs
8 tbsp melted butter, cooled (or half of one of those 250g slabs)

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 200 degrees Celcius.  Generously coat an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable oil spray.  Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl.  Process the buttermilk, corn, and eggs in a food processor until combined, about 5 seconds.  Gently fold the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture, then fold in the melted butter until just combined (batter will be thick).  Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, about 35 minutes.  Let the cornbread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. 

N.B.  I do this in a bundt pan instead, and you just have to watch it and test it for time.  Baking time varies by oven anyway.  If you DID want the sweet version, you add 1/4 cup brown sugar to the egg/corn/buttermilk mixture in the food processor.
 

now I'm wondering what Cream of Wheat bread would taste like.  I love the cereal, but I don't think I'd like the bread so much.  I second the fact that it's polenta you need.

Admittedly, I have made bread with semolina (which is why we have it), but it was a yeast bread. Lovely chewy/crunchy texture, and very tasty with sesame seeds on the outside.

Hahaha@me 

When I got home and looked at the package of semolina and it said the ingredients were some kind of wheat I thought 'How am I going to make cornbread out of that?!'

I finally found a recipe online, but thanks for your help. Mine wasn't great (partially due to the semolina and not polenta, I'm sure!! hahaha) but it was okay, actually - I decided to give it a try anyway. Next time I'll get  polenta and try your recipe, Melissa - it sounds closest to my grandma's!

Thanks for all your help, I appreciate it

You do realize that semolina is wheat, not corn, right?

you know, i read her post (skimmed it, i guess!) and never caught that!

Mmmmmm cornbread!  I made some today for lunch to go with our leftover black-eyed peas.  My favorite cornbread recipe is in a Southern-style cookbook on its way crossing the ocean to me right now, along with most of my cast iron cookware.

So I did a cobbled together recipe -- using a little bit of Melissa's recipe & a little bit of  Elliejean's recipe & a little bit of my own tweaking about with it.  Of course, I cooked it in a cast iron skillet - is there anything else for cornbread?!  Only thing is -- I got too impatient & I didn't let the grease (butter today) get all sizzling in the hot skillet (heating in the oven first) before I put the batter in.  So it didn't have that lovely sizzle when hitting the skillet - that gives it such a marvelous crust.  But it was still pretty darn good!

Mmmmmm cornbread!  I made some today for lunch to go with our leftover black-eyed peas.  My favorite cornbread recipe is in a Southern-style cookbook on its way crossing the ocean to me right now, along with most of my cast iron cookware.

did you have black-eyed peas for new years like a good southern girl?

did you have black-eyed peas for new years like a good southern girl?

Sort of...  I was too knackered & hungover to make them on New Year's Day (which was the original plan), so we had them January 2nd instead.

Sort of...  I was too knackered & hungover to make them on New Year's Day (which was the original plan), so we had them January 2nd instead.

can't beat a good southern new years day feast. only had it once, when i was in NM, but it was wonderful comfort food

did you have black-eyed peas for new years like a good southern girl?

In Louisiana, it's red beans 'n' rice!