Northern Style Cornbread

Instructions

1. Set your oven to 400°F and generously grease a 9-inch square baking pan with butter or cooking spray. Don't skip the greasing—cornbread has a tendency to stick, and you want clean, golden edges.
2. Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl, whisking thoroughly to eliminate any lumps. The cornmeal should be evenly distributed throughout—no pockets of flour hiding in the corners.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, vegetable oil, and melted butter until smooth and well incorporated. The mixture should have a lovely pale yellow color from the eggs and butter.
4. Create a well in your dry ingredients, then pour in the buttermilk mixture all at once. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, fold everything together with gentle strokes until just barely combined—you should still see small streaks of flour. Overmixing creates tough cornbread, and nobody wants that.
5. Scrape the batter into your prepared pan and gently spread it to the corners with an offset spatula. The surface doesn't need to be perfectly smooth—rustic is beautiful here.
6. Slide into the oven and bake until the top turns a gorgeous golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The edges should pull slightly away from the pan.

   ⏱ 25 min
7. Resist the urge to cut immediately—let the cornbread rest in the pan to finish setting up. This brief cooling period ensures clean slices that won't crumble apart on your plate.

   ⏱ 10 min