Homemade Cornmeal Cornbread Mix

A ready-to-go Southern-style cornbread mix — just cornmeal, flour, and leaveners, so you control the sugar (or leave it out entirely for a traditional savory cornbread).

What You Need

• 2 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2–4 tablespoons granulated sugar (optional — omit for traditional Southern-style cornbread)
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup dry milk powder (optional, for a just-add-water version)

Method

1. Whisk all the dry ingredients together until evenly combined.
2. Store in an airtight jar or container.
3. To bake: whisk 1½ cups of the mix with 1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk (or milk, or water if using the milk-powder version), and ¼ cup melted butter or oil until just combined.
4. Pour into a greased, preheated 9-inch cast iron skillet or an 8x8-inch pan.
5. Bake at 400°F for 20–25 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

Tips & Notes

• For classic Southern cornbread, skip the sugar entirely and use buttermilk — it should taste savory, not like cake.
• Preheating the greased skillet in the oven before pouring in the batter gives the bottom a crisp, golden crust.
• Stone-ground cornmeal gives a coarser, more rustic texture than fine-ground; either works in this mix.

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