Crispity crunchy, toasted with butter, and good enough to just eat on their own, these are a fine example of bread turned into croutons. The bread itself was, to be perfectly honest, kinda *meh*, or, mebbe I am just not a big corn bread fan – Rich thought it perfectly fine.
Still, it was, as promised in the recipe I’d found, fast to make, and really, it wasn’t terrible. I am glad I’d added the butter, the buttermilk, and extra seasonings, tho’ – they made the croutons that much more better.
INGREDIENTS
•1 cup flour
•1 cup yellow cornmeal
•3 tbsp sugar
•1-1/2 tsp baking powder
•1/2 tsp coarse smoked sea salt
•1 tsp dried chives
•1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
•1 cup buttermilk*
•2 tbsp veggie oil
•2 tbsp melted butter
•1 large egg
*As always, no buttermilk? No worries! Simply add one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a measuring cup, then add your milk of choice (I used whole) to measure one cup. Give it a stir, then let it rest for five minutes. Voilà! Buttermilk.
Heat your oven to 400º and apply cooking spray to a nine inch baking pan.
Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and seasonings in a mixing bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk with the melted butter, oil, and egg until nicely combined.
Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a fork just until combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Slice into squares and serve with butter, honey, or…
I had mine with a schmear of jalapeño cream cheese along side a bowl of white chili.
Nice.
But nothing really to write home (or, ermmm, a post) about until… I was thinking about that chili and the corn bread and how very nice it would’ve been to have something crispity crunchy to toss into the chili.
Hmmm.
Heat your oven to 400º, cube your cornbread, and toss it with 1/4 cup of melted butter on a foil-lined baking pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring after ten minutes, until the croutons are golden brown and oh! so nicely toasted.
Now, you’re talkin’!
Toss a few (or, ermmm, a lot) into a steaming bowl of chili – or any soup, really, or a salad, it’s all good, and enjoy a bit of toasted corn bread crouton-y goodness.
I am actually so pleased with how these turned out as croutons, that I am planning to make another batch, just to revisit an old recipe I haven’t made in a while: Southern Panzanella.