Why whole wheat in my cornbread?
If you look up the classic cornbread recipe printed on the Quaker yellow cornmeal box, you will see that it actually has more all purpose flour than cornmeal… Cornbread can of course be made without wheat flour. There are lots of recipes out there for that. My personal preference, though, has always been for a combination of corn meal and flour. Flour makes for a lighter and fluffier bread that does not crumble as easily as the full cornmeal version.
It took me a few tries to come up with a Mediterranean Diet friendly version of the classic Quaker cornbread, but I am happy to share the glorious outcome. It’s just as delicious as the original recipe, if not better! And tested and approved by my grandchild!
If you are gluten intolerant, of course, you need to look for a 100% cornmeal recipe such as this one https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/gluten-free-cornbread. It is not Mediterranean Diet friendly, however.
The ingredients
I have replaced all purpose flour with whole wheat flour. More fiber, more nutrients, better for you.
I have replaced “vegetable oil” with olive oil. That’s a no brainer. Don’t use a super fancy and pungent olive oil for this, or it will change the flavor of your bread. A mild flavored one is preferable, such as this one https://amzn.to/3sVFfsa
And finally, I have replaced sugar with raw honey. It’s still added sugar, but it’s less refined. I like a touch of sweetness in my cornbread, but if you want, you can reduce the amount in the recipe.
How to make whole wheat cornbread
Just mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together in another. Combine the two.
Grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan such as this one https://amzn.to/3aiASin. You can also use an 8″ x 8″ pan like this one https://amzn.to/3qXkrPb. I strongly recommend a dab of butter to grease your pan, nothing works better in my opinion. Oil will create a sticky residue and non-stick spray cans contain chemicals you don’t really need…
Pour the mixture in the pan. Bake 35 minutes, and look what comes out! Ta-da!
Let it cool down a bit. After 15 minutes or so, remove from the pan and set it on a rack to cool. You can eat it warm, at room temperature or cold out of the refrigerator. It’s equally good…
This cornbread is a great complement to our amazing turkey chili, recipe here https://cuisinewithme.com/turkey-chili/.
Enjoy!
Whole wheat cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 ea egg
- 1 cup milk (2%)
- 3 tbsp raw honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Mix together corn meal, flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg lightly, add milk, honey and oil
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until there are no more lumps.
- Pour in a greased 9 x 5" loaf pan. Bake 35 minutes.
- Cool 15 minutes in the pan, then remove it to a rack to finish cooling.
