Farmhouse Buttermilk Cornmeal Muffins

Flavorful, moist and full of texture, these Farmhouse Buttermilk Cornmeal Muffins come together in a snap. If you need a reliable, properly leavened and not-too sweet stone-ground cornmeal muffin, you’ve arrived.

These muffins, which I am coning as Farmhouse Buttermilk Cornmeal Muffins, hail from my aunt. Hands-down, she makes the best muffins. Growing up, I recall either her or my grandma making cornmeal muffins (I think usually in the summer?), and I LOVED their golden brown exterior and inviting yellow crumb. Slathered with soft butter (because grandma always had some on the counter), and a drizzle of honey, it was perfection.

Pantry-Friendly Baking Recipes

Humble ingredients unite in these Farmhouse Buttermilk Cornmeal Muffins, similar to the French Yogurt Loaf Cake I shared recently. Lately, I am very into pantry-friendly baking staples. Why? I love a well-stocked pantry, especially during winter months when it is just too cold to venture out. It is also a budget-friendly strategy, and also forces you to be creative with what you have on hand. You may not stock stone-ground cornmeal in your pantry, but I urge you to do so. The finely milled stuff lacks in character, flavor and results in a dense-textured muffin. In contrast, stone-ground cornmeal has a varying particle size, thanks to being crushed by….mill stones! This varying particle size works magic in the batter. A few stone-ground cornmeal options I love are Bob’s Red Mill Medium Grind and Janey’s Mill.

Why This Farmhouse Buttermilk Cornmeal Muffins RecipeWorks:

• Stoneground Cornmeal has a Varying Particle Size – operating theory is that the smaller particles unite to form a fluffy crumb, while the larger particles contribute texture, flavor and lift by breaking up a tighter crumb structure. Having larger and smaller particle sizes as well as the whole corn kernel in stone-ground cornmeal leads more flavor, color and nutrition. However, this comes with a shorter shelf-life – so I guess you need to make these muffins frequently!
• Balanced Chemical Leavening System – there are few things more disheartening than biting into a baked good, to only be slapped in the face with metallic notes and a bitter after-taste from using too much chemical leaveners. The same can be said for collapsed baked goods: too much chemical leavening stresses the gluten structure during the baking time before the viscoelastic network of glutenin and gliadin have set, and therefore leads to collapse. Aim for about 1/4 tsp baking soda to react with buttermilk or acidic ingredients and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder for further leavening per 1 cup of flour for a reliable starting point, as this recipe features. Now, you can spot over or under-leavened recipes quickly, and fix the balance before you invest time and money into a recipe.
• Buttermilk for Acid – buttermilk contributes flavorful tang, helps with moisture retention in the crumb, and supports browning of the exterior of the muffins. The acid in the buttermilk also reacts with the baking powder in the recipe. You can also sub regular plain yogurt, or thinned-out plain Greek yogurt.
• Muffins or Bread – you choose! I provide instructions in the recipe to also bake in a 9″ or 10″ cast iron pan.
• Soaking the Cornmeal for Softer Results – I know that the coarse texture of stone-ground cornmeal is not everyone’s jam, but the flavor for me is worth it. And, particle sizes vary per mill. You can soak the cornmeal in the buttermilk for a few hours to lessen the firmness of the larger particles in the stone-ground cornmeal.
• Sweetness Level – you can dial up or down; I prefer 2 TB, as I’d prefer to add more sweetness with honey or jam, and the less-sweet batter pairs wonderfully with your favorite savory stews.