Cornbread Croutons Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my cornbread not crunchy? ›

To achieve the crispiest golden crust on your cornbread, Delk Adams instructs you to grease the skillet liberally with bacon grease (if you don't have that, shortening, butter, or oil will do), then pop it into the hot oven for 5 minutes before pouring the batter in.

Cornmeal gives cornbread its classic color and flavor, but too much can make your bread crumbly. Try replacing a little bit of cornmeal with flour. The specific measurements will depend on how much cornmeal and flour is in your recipe, but you should try to have more flour than cornmeal in your batter.

Add in some Flour

Adding in flour will help to keep the cornbread moist. I like to use a 50/50 ratio of cornmeal to flour in my recipe.

Cover with aluminum foil to avoid burning and to keep the bread from getting too dry. Bake in a 350-degree F oven for 10 minutes, or until bread is warmed through. For best results, do not exceed 15 minutes of oven time.

The batter should be thick, but still pourable. Add more milk or buttermilk if necessary. Remove the skillet from the oven and tilt the pan so the butter coats the bottom and sides of pan.

Yes, but we recommend using an egg substitute, like applesauce. Eggs, or egg substitutes help add structure to the cornbread. Without an egg or substitute, the cornbread may crumble and fall apart easily.

1Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). We recommend allowing cornbread batter to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before baking, so if you prefer, you can delay heating the oven until you make the batter. 2Melt the butter, and then set aside to cool slightly.

Spread the bread cubes onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure the bread cubes are in an even layer and not touching. If they are too close and overlapping, they won't cook evenly and won't crisp up. Bake for 12 to 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, or until the croutons are golden brown.

Croutons that are perfectly crisp right out of the oven will be too hard to eat when they cool. For the perfect crouton, pull them from the oven when they are still have a bit of give to them – as they cool, they will crisp up perfectly. Stale bread will crisp faster in the oven and will need less time to bake.

Why are my homemade croutons soggy? ›

The key to crispy croutons is making sure that they're fully dried out in the oven and crunchy all the way through. They should not be chewy when they come out of the oven. Bake croutons in a single layer on the baking sheet to crisp up the bread, rather than steaming it.

You can just use water instead which is what most cornbread mixes ask for in the first. I've used both before and it normally turns out good either way. If you don't want to use water though some other milk substitutes are usually other dairy products like yogurt, sour cream, or half and half.

Can I use a milk substitute in “JIFFY” Mix recipes? “JIFFY” mixes can also be prepared with water or plant-based milk alternatives like soy, almond or coconut milk.

If you're concerned about it, put the cornbread back in the oven and bake it some more. It's done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, like a cake.

Set the batter aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

By letting the cornbread batter sit at room temperature before baking, the cornmeal has some extra time to absorb the flavor from the other ingredients, and the baking powder gets a head start.