The Liquid That Turns Boxed Cornbread Into A Gourmet Side

Regular boxed cornbread is a convenient staple among Southern sides. And with something as simple as an honesty twist, the best store-bought cornbread mix now exists. However, we won't pass up the opportunity to elevate this golden bread even further, and you'll be surprised by what a little liquid can do. Not just any liquid, but a creamy product you may already have in your fridge — buttermilk. The idea of using buttermilk in cornbread is not unconventional. You'll find it in Daily Meal's cast-iron cornbread recipe as one of three liquids that give the homemade bread its final, flavorful glory. When added to your boxed cornbread mix, it can effectively enhance the final product.

If you're using a boxed mix like Jiffy for cornbread, the recipe calls for one egg and ⅓ cup of milk in addition to the mix itself. Simply add about ⅔ cup of buttermilk to the batter, and it's ready to bake. Alternatively, you can replace the whole milk entirely with the same amount of buttermilk, then add some melted butter, oil, and honey to smooth out the cornbread mix. Let the batter soak up the flavors for about 20 minutes before baking, and you may never look at a box of cornbread mix the same way again.

The first thing you'll notice is how rich cornbread made with buttermilk turns out. The original recipe using whole milk yields moist results, but buttermilk enhances the texture to a tender crumb. Buttermilk is more acidic than regular milk, and when included in baked goods, this acidity reacts with the alkali baking soda to form carbon dioxide gas. This reaction gives the baking soda greater leavening power, resulting in cornbread with a light and fluffy texture. Because they contain baking soda, most boxed cornbread mixes, such as Krusteaz Southern Cornbread and Dolly Parton's Sweet Cornbread & Muffin Mix, can benefit from buttermilk's acidity for a fluffy-centered cornbread.

The acid in buttermilk also disrupts protein bonds in baked goods by breaking down gluten strands, making the bread less rigid and more tender. Since most boxed cornbread mixes contain wheat flour, which has gluten, these mixes are subject to this acid-gluten reaction, resulting in cornbread that feels soft. Additionally, buttermilk imparts its signature tang to boxed cornbread while countering its sweetness. This not only distinguishes cornbread's flavor in a way that regular milk doesn't but also counters the sweet taste of your boxed cornbread in a manner that any true gourmet will appreciate.

Another great substitute for milk is sour cream, which functions similarly to buttermilk when added to a boxed cornbread mix. Although they are not the same, sour cream and buttermilk have the same level of acidity. However, since sour cream contains more fat, you will only need ⅓ cup when using it in a Jiffy mix. Consequently, the lactic acid in sour cream reacts with baking soda and breaks down the gluten strands in boxed cornbread, resulting in a moist product.

If you have neither buttermilk nor sour cream, you can revert to regular whole milk. In this case, however, you will want to acidify it. By adding acid to whole milk, you can create homemade buttermilk. Simply add one tablespoon of an acid such as lemon juice, vinegar, or apple cider vinegar to one cup of milk and stir. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes to curdle before adding it to the batter. This trick works well, and you can even try it with one other milk-based ingredient swap that you may already have on hand.

In addition to buttermilk, you can also enhance your cornbread with an unexpected baking ingredient: Vanilla extract. This fragrant addition also works for boxed mixes and will leave your store-bought cornbread brilliantly aromatic. Not only does vanilla distract from the cornbread's sweetness without overpowering it, but when combined with buttermilk, it creates boxed cornbread that rivals any homemade version.