Bread Machine Cornbread
Bread machine cornbread is easy to make and tastes great! Who would have guessed that you can make cornbread without a mix AND in the bread machine?
Last Updated on October 26, 2024 – Originally Published June 5, 2009
Featured Comment
Just tried this recipe. I needed a good cornbread for my homemade chili. Well, this is it. Not too sweet. My husband said it was the best cornbread he ever ate. – Cathy
The Zojirushi bread machine has a cake setting. That would be perfect for cornbread right? That’s what I thought. However, the manual that came with my original bread machine didn’t have a recipe. The manual recommend I buy a mix and make it in the machine.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for bread mixes. In fact, I use them regularly and even review bread machine mixes.
But I wanted a real recipe for cornbread. So I tried my regular cornbread recipe in the bread machine. It turned out great!
Just to clarify, the cake or quick bread cycle is for things without yeast. We’re talking banana bread, cornbread and pound cake.
This recipe is not for the quick/rapid cycle. That setting is for yeast bread using rapid rise yeast.
Melt the Butter
Note that this recipe calls for melted butter.
In the bread recipes on this site, I tell people that if their machine has a preheat cycle to not melt the butter. The bread machine will do that for you. However, the Zojirushi cake setting doesn’t have a preheat cycle. It starts mixing right away. So in this instance, the butter needs to be melted.
Baking Powder
Note that this is not a yeast bread. It’s a quick bread that uses baking powder as the leavening agent. The cornbread rises to about 2.5 inches in my machine.
What if your bread doesn’t rise that high? The culprit could be old baking powder.
Here’s a photo of two loaves of cornbread that I made recently. The loaf on the left was made with old baking powder and the loaf on the right was made with new baking powder.
As you can see, the age of the baking powder makes a huge difference in the bread.
Here’s a simple test to see if your baking powder is still good. Stir half a teaspoon of baking powder into a 1/4 of a cup of hot water. Does it fizz and bubble? If so, the baking powder is fine to use.
What is Cornmeal?
You’ll note that this recipe contains cornmeal. What exactly is cornmeal? It’s a coarse flour made from dried corn.
Most commercial cornmeal is made from either yellow or white dent corn. Dent corn is a type of field corn named for its dented kernels. Most of the corn grown in the United States is either yellow dent corn or a closely related variety.
In the United States, it’s common to see steel-ground yellow cornmeal. With this product, the husk and germ of the corn kernel has been almost completely removed. The good news is that makes the cornmeal shelf-stable. The bad news is that it’s not as nutritious.
If you’d like more nutritious cornmeal, look for “whole grain” cornmeal. That’s typically stone-ground and is a coarser type of cornmeal. While this cornmeal is more nutritious, it’s more perishable.
Bread Machine Cornbread at High Altitudes
Cornbread at 3,700 Feet
The recipes on this site were developed at sea level. However, I’ve recently moved and live at an elevation of 3,700 feet.
Yeast bread recipes need to be adjusted for altitude starting at 3,000 feet. But what about quick breads that use baking powder as a leavening agent?
I researched the matter and didn’t get any clear answers. So I just tried my recipe to see what would happen.
I’m happy to report that this bread machine cornbread recipe works fine at 3,700 feet with no adjustments.
If you try the recipe and it doesn’t work, try decreasing the baking powder by 20% if you live above 3,500 feet, by 50% above 5,000 feet, and by 75% above 6,500 feet.
What Goes With Bread Machine Cornbread?
At our house, we often have cornbread with chili. It’s a great combination!
Here’s an idea for a fast dinner using cornbread. It’s an all-American spin on the British dish of beans on toast. Heat a can of baked beans on the stove. Add sliced kielbasa to the pan and stir. When everything is warm, serve over sliced cornbread. It’s fast, filling and delicious!
Here are other dishes that go great with cornbread:
- BBQ of any type – We love it with BBQ ribs we make in the crockpot.
- Roasted chicken or pork
- Stews or soups – Green pea soup and cornbread are heavenly together!
- Ham
Storing Cornbread
We sliced the cornbread and froze what we didn’t eat. When we want a slice we just pop it in the toaster. It thaws and heats the cornbread all at once.
How to make Bread Machine Cornbread
Again, this recipe uses the cake cycle of a two-pound machine.
Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the machine first.
Select the cake setting with a light crust. If your machine doesn’t have a cake setting, use the quick bread setting.
Bread Machine Cornbread Ingredients
Note that this recipe uses the cake cycle of a two-pound machine.
- 2 eggs – lightly beaten
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 1/4 cup bread flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Bread Machine Cornbread
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 eggs – lightly beaten
- 1 cup (236.6 ml) milk
- 1 cup (159 g) cornmeal
- 1 1/4 cup (156.3 g) bread flour
- 4 teaspoons (3.9 teaspoons) baking powder
- 1/4 cup (50 g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup (56.8 g) melted butter
Instructions
- Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine in terms of which ingredients to put in the machine first.
- Select the cake setting with a light crust. If your machine doesn’t have a cake setting, use the quick bread setting.
Notes
Nutrition
All information presented within this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on breadmachinediva.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. I try to provide accurate information to the best of my ability; however these figures should still be considered estimates.
This is a simple cornbread that I want again and again. Making it right now with smoked ribs for Father’s Day.
My bread maker has a cake setting and a cornbread setting. I have had a little trouble with my first few attempts. Mixing didn’t go well. I used the cornbread setting. Should I try the cake setting?
Your machine has a cornbread setting? Wow! What type of machine is that?
I would definitely try the cake setting. After all, this recipe was developed for the cake setting.
This came out the smallest loaf ever. Tasty though. Next time I’ll have to double the recipe.
I’m trying it as we speak, will let.you know, I have a Hamilton Beach, using the cake setting, also added 1 can of drained white corn. Will keep you updated. Thanks!
Update: it came out great! The only change made was adding corn…thanks for the recipe will be well used in my house!
Thanks for letting me know. I’m so glad you liked it!
at one point do you use the 1/4 cup of melted / soft butter? Thank you
I put it in after the flour.
Made this today in my bread machine and it turned out better than I expected! It was phenomenal! A huge hit with my family. Will definitely be making it again. Thank you!
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it!
I have a mini Zojirushi and it only makes 1 pound loaves. Would I cut the recipe in half?
Here’s an article on how to adjust recipes to fit any sized machine.
Technically I think that all the ingredients might fit in your machine, the question I would have is if the paddle could adequately stir all the ingredients.
If I wanted to bake this in the oven, what size cast iron skillet would I use? Anyone? Thanks
Is there no yeast in this cornbread recipe? Just want to make sure I didn’t miss anything?
Also, quick setting is 1 hr 40 min
Cake setting is 2 hr 40 min.
Which should I use ?
Right. This isn’t a yeast bread recipe. It’s a quick bread. So you won’t use this for sandwiches or anything like that. It goes really well with chili though. 🙂
It’s odd that the cake setting on your bread machine would be so long, but I think I’d use that one.
My Hamilton Beach machine took 3 hours on the cake setting! But the bread turned out amazing. I used bread flour, in case that makes a difference. I did find that it didn’t rise much, should it have?
Thanks so much for the feedback.
Mine doesn’t rise much either, but like yours, it tastes great. 🙂
I read some stuff online last night, I think because the cake setting stirs the batter too much it stops the baking powder from doing it’s job. I’m going to try the recipe again tonight with the Quick setting to see if that works better.
Yes, please keep me posted.
I used your recipe and the cornbread came out tasty but a bit on the dry side. Do you have any tips or changes that might help in making the final product a bit more moist?
You might try increasing the butter or oil slightly.
I am new to the bread machine world. I got my Hamilton Beach bread maker as a gift.
I, like you, don’t like “cake mixes” so I was thrilled to find this recipe. I made it today for Sunday lunch and it came out fantastic! Thank you soooo much for this … I’ll be checking out your other recipes for sure!
Congrats on your new machine! And thanks for letting me know your thoughts on the recipe. I’m so glad you liked it!
I’ve got a Hamilton Beach machine on order. Did you use the “cake” setting? (The recipe in the manufacturer’s book is under the “quick” bread section. I know the pan is supposed to be non-stick so did you grease it in any way? Did you use bread flour or just plain white flour? I’m thinking about making this the first recipe I try because my husband is always after me to make cornbread. If you see this, thanks for taking the time to read it.
Hi Michelle, I have a different brand of bread machine than you do. I used the cake setting, but the quick bread setting should work on your machine. I did not add any extra grease. I used bread flour.
I have a Hamilton Beach machine, just made this recipe, used the cake setting & it turned out delicious! Best cornbread I’ve ever made!
Update: I think my cornbread should have risen a bit more, I read some articles and I think that the cake setting stirs the batter too much so I’m going to try the “Quick” setting tonight to see if that helps the bread rise properly. I’ll let you know if it works!
Let me know what you think.
I found a recipe that actually add 1/2 cup of corn real corn I used frozen that I microwaved and cooled before adding turned out really well
I found a recipe for corn bread that includes actually adding corn to the recipe..FANYASTIC
I made the cornbread with the zojirushi home bakery mini. This machine makes a 1 lb loaf and has a cake cycle. No changes made to the recipe ingredient amounts. Came out spectacularly.
I have an older Zojirushi BBCC-S15.
I tried this as my first cornbread. Having not done this before, it seemed dense when I took it out of the pan and sliced it. But it was just fine when eaten fresh and the next few days when toasted . . . mmmmm
I am going to make another one tomorrow for the family party.
Now I don’t have to beg my wife to bake me cornbread in the oven 🙂
My only comment is to PLEASE give an approximate loaf size of the recipes. This is very important to those of us with a smaller than 2 pound machine. I was worried that it might overflow my 1-1/2 pound pan. It turned out that the finished cornbread volume was similar to a 1 pound loaf.
ok done. was a little undercooked but 20 min @350 and this was really a good corn bread with green chilies.
making this now. didn’t have corn meal so used palenta – put in pan with all liquids and let “sit” 45min to adjust. also added a 4oz can of green chilies (sorry corn bread has to have green chilies or why have it). followed rest to a T. cant wait to try the other recopies as LOVE my bread machine (yes its a Z – had to buy a new one when my son at 19 moved out and the 1 thing he really wanted was my Z machine cant tell a kid no)
Polenta is just another name for corn meal. I have always used them interchangeably and never had a problem
I have a Cuisinart cbk-100 bread machine, if I make cornbread using the cake setting will I be able to remove the paddle before the baking process? Just curious, I don’t want to be breaking the bread trying to get it out of the pan. Thanks.
Hi Charles, I’m sorry but I have no experience with that sort of bread machine.
If anyone else has any tips please comment. I’d love to hear.
I also have the Cuisinart cbk 100. Cake setting doesn’t have the signal for paddle removal. When you take pan out leave the cornbread in for about 15 minutes then take it out . Everything will be ok. Matt from Massachusetts.
I have the same kind of machine. On the cake setting the paddle is removed as soon as the mixing is done, not after rising as it is on the other settings. The batter — it isn’t dough — will be liquid. All the rising happens after that.
I have it just the way I want it now. ???? I used 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 extra tablespoons of oil, and added an extra tablespoon of sugar. I like sweet cornbread (Yankee Bread). It turned out perfectly sweet and very moist.
I made this yesterday. The flavor is perfect, but it turned out much dryer than I would like. Maybe I should add another egg? Any ideas?
Hi Karen,
If you try adding another egg let me know if it works. I like this recipe a lot, but it’s a balancing act. On one hand you don’t want the bread too dry and on the other hand you want to make sure that the bread actually cooks all the way through.
My bread maker has two possible options to use for this recipe. One is a “sweet” setting for baking bread that contains sugar and eggs. A 1 ½ lb. loaf would take 3 hrs. 17 min. at this setting. The second would be a “quick” bread setting for baking bread that contains baking powder instead of yeast. A 1 ½ lb. loaf would take 1 hr. 17 min. using this setting. Any suggestions on which setting would be best suited to this recipe.
I’d go with the quick bread setting.
Has anyone ever baked plain cornbread in the Zo? Meaning no vanilla or sugar. Just curious how it will turn out.
We tried this in our Breadman bread machine and used the batter breads setting- medium crust. It worked well. We repeated the recipe and added one can of corn, drained. It was great. It is a great cornbread but not so crumbly you cant spread butter or other toppings on slices. This recipe is getting laminated, it’s a keeper! Definitely my ‘go to’ cornbread recipe now! Thank you!
Thanks so much for the great comments. You made my day!
I wish I had read comments before baking. My family found this way too salty- so much so that I, who eat all kinds of mistakes, had to toss it. Less baking soda next time.
Thank you SO much for this recipe! I have a ZO and just love it. I have never used the cake setting before. We are having very spicy chili today and like the sweet cornbread with it.
I am glad I found your site. I love my ZO!
Thanks for writing! Hope you enjoy the bread!
Thank you SO much for your recipes. Just purchased a ZO and like you HATED the mix options! cornbread is in the oven, I mean the ZO, right now. I plan to make one of my mom’s recipes, Baked Whole Fish with thin sliced potatoes and onions. I think the sweetness from your cornbread recipe will be perfect. I am a southern lady but like both sweet and savory cornbread. Typically her in NC we would make up a savory batter and fry it, well we fried just about everything!! LOL. Thanks again and thanks for all the great reviews!!
I made this last week. I reduced baking soda to 2 tsp. But I think I might bump it up to three. Otherwise, this recipe is great! Just the johnny cake / corn bread recipe that I was looking for – and I can make it in my bread machine! Thanks!
I followed your recipe as written using the Zojirushi. The only difference I imagine is using stone ground whole corn meal which worked great for my preferences. A more rustic loaf tha regular cornmeal, and made a good flavored loaf. Wonderful with a bowl of chili garnished with avocado chunks, scallions and a sprinkle of cheese. Thanks for this… I wasn’t having any luck on my 1st 2 efforts!
I woul like to add that I used an unbleached, unbromated non gmo all purpose flour from Wheat Montana. I saw no reason to use a bread flour particularly for a cake like bread. This flour is great and has a good gluten content naturally. I get it in 25lb bags. It feels silky to touch and the quality and price are great from this family farm. My favorite for this type of flour by far. ….. Also, I really appreciate this site and am new to it. I don’t have access to an oven so making the bread machine work for me has been great, but sometimes is a test when pushing its performance. The info I find here is helpful and good reading. Thanks everyone!
Marsha- love this recipe. I want to try it in this week. In your recipe, you haev 1 cup of cornmeal and 1-1/4 flour. What flour did you use? Is it corn flour or bread flour (wheat or white)?
I don’t live in America and the corn meal here is white. Seeing as corn bread is not populare here, will white corn meal “Maize” work just as well?
Hi Brian, I did some research and I think it’s worth giving it a try. Some people say white cornmeal is better than the yellow. Let me know how it turns out!
White cornmeal makes southern US style cornbread. The actual recipes for northern style are a bit sweeter. In my experince white and yellow are lnterchangeable. I happen to like the cheery yellow color of the yellow but happily use either, but I stay away from self rising flours as then the choice is mine when making pancakes, muffins, corn fritters, coating fish, making gluten free or so on. Blue cornmeal is another option. Odd color but taste fine. …
Best -Sal
Has anyone used an Oster with this recipe?
I am in the process of making this now—will keep you posted
Sounds good. I hope you like it.
BEST CORNBREAD EVER !!!! this is the first cornbread that ive made that doesnt crumble apart when its sliced. it was moist too, very flavorful also. thank you very very much for sharing this recipe. its a keeper !! : )
My son needed a loaf of corn bread for his French class today, so I made this recipe last night. After reading a few of the reviews I made a few changes and baked it on the basic setting in my Breville. I used 1 1/4 of cornmeal and 1 cup of flour. I also decreased the baking powder to 2 tsp. It baked perfectly and had a nice sweet flavour. Another recipe to add to my collection!
Thanks so much for the kind words!
Just tried this recipe. I needed a good cornbread for my homemade chili. Well, this is it. Not too sweet. My husband said it was the best cornbread he ever ate. I, too, have a Zojirushi bread machine. I followed your recipe exactly and it came out perfectly. THANK YOU!! <3
Cathy, I’m so glad you liked it! This has me thinking about what to make for the big game this weekend. Maybe chili and cornbread would be good. Hmmm . . . .
Hi, I made this recipie today and added chopped jalapeño to it, just pulled it out , the loaf is maby 2 1/2 inches tall in the center, I’m guessing it should be taller, not posative on how old my baking powder is but I did have to chop it up some ha ha will try again with fresh powder
I have a Zo, also. When using the cake cycle, I find I always need to take a spatula and give it a good stir after about 5 minutes. If I don’t, there are always clumps of flour along the side of the cake/bread. I always use whole wheat flour, I’m not sure if it happens with while flour. I’ve made many cake, quick bread and muffin recipes using the cake cycle. Most have turned out well! I’m giving this recipe a try for dinner tonight. Thanks!
Worked perfectly in my Breadman TR800 using the Batter Bread/Cake setting. I made sure to take it out to cool pretty quickly after the cycle finished so it didn’t sit in the steam and get soggy. Thanks for the recipe!
Chelsea, I’m glad you liked it! And thanks for leaving a comment. I’m sure that everyone using the Breadman TR800 will appreciate it.
Thank you so much!!! I first made a version that took Yeast and it turned out like a regular bread with corn crust :/ then I found your website and made the corn bread that I was searching for 😀 However I would like it if it was a bit sweeter…maybe next time I will up the sugar content, maybe add some honey and a little bit more butter? But this recipe is definately a keeper 😀 Thank you soooo much!!!!
Hi Susan, I was looking for Bread Machine Stuffing bread and this caught my eye. I have to say, you must be a Yankee if you like sweet corn bread! Don’t worry, I am too! I thought the local cornbread in middle TN with no sugar and very little salt tasted like cardboard! When I made MY corn bread to take to a work pot luck, the ladies of the south told me how good it was, but were scandalized that it had sugar and more than a few grains of salt! They told me I made Yankee bread, and they were right! Back in Yankee territory now! This recipe is almost exact to my own, (oven baked), corn bread. I use more cornmeal than flour though. Just reverse the measurements. This is spot on w/salt., sugar, eggs, milk and oil. I do not use vanilla. I think this uses a bit much baking powder, my recipe uses 2 teasp. I have a Panasonic SD-YD250 bread machine that has a “bake only” option that can be used for cakes, but only if you line the pan with parchment. I’m not sure I would go to all of that trouble to use the bread machine since you have to mix outside the pan AND line the baking pan, when it’s so easy to bake in the oven! That info is for other Panasonic owners who may come across this. But the whole point of this post is to tell you a trick I learned to make my cornbread sweeter. Use the 1/4 c. sugar in the batter. After the batter is gently mixed, pour it into an oil sprayed pan. Before you place it in the oven, use another 1/4 c. of sugar and sprinkle itevenly over the top of the unbaked batter. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the sugar has lightly caramelized on the top. YUM! Great with homemade bean soup!
Looks great can’t wait to try it, new to the bread machine scene and i love it thanks.
Made at high altitude (Denver area) and I think there was too much baking powder. I reduced it a bit – as you usually do for high alt. – but it still rose a little too fast, didn’t keep it’s shape. It’s definitely edible, and the shape is actually OK – a little blobby loaf – but there is a slight baking powder taste. (that will go away when soaked in pork and beans) I also increased the oil by 1/8 cup, as I usually do for liquids in high-altitude. Pretty good, but I need to tweak it a little more for our elevation. Will try again!
Just a note for those people who were having the bread cook, but still be a little too wet in the centre. I’ve had this problem with other quick breads like Banana Bread and Gingerbread. Take a look at your bread pan insert. Is it entirely metal? If so, you can pop it in the oven if its not quite finished. Use a cake tester or toothpick inserted to the deepest part and if it comes out clean it is done. If it doesn’t, pop it in a 350 degree oven for another 10 – 20 mintues.
This finishes mine off nicely on days where we have high humidity (thus things take longer to bake). But make sure there are no plastic parts or rubber rings anywhere on your removable bread pan or you will wreck it.
Thank you for this recipe! Really loved it! I love cornbread and I’m loving my breadmachine… My panasonic bread machine does not have a cake cycle though… just a dough only or bake only…and a rapid bake…along with the normal bake white/wheat/etc type cycles.
I ended up mixing everything in a mixing bowl and then pouring it into my bread pan for the machine. I set it to bake only – for 50 minutes…and it came out great!! I might try 45minutes last time…as the bottom was a bit browner then *I* like – though my husband loves crust. Both my toddlers are gobbling it up – who doesn’t love corn bread with a little butter. 🙂 Thank you again! I am curious though – how long does yours bake for in your machine?
Hi Abby, I’m glad you like the recipe! The Zojirushi has a cake cycle that lasts 2 hours. But that includes mixing, baking and cooling time. I’m not sure how long the baking time is by itself.
Are you using plain flour and corn meal
I actually use bread machine flour because it’s all I have in the house. 🙂 However, the recipe was designed for using regular, plain flour. And yes, I use regular cornmeal.
The instructions for the Zojirushi Supreme specify that the Cake cycle lasts two hours, of which 24 minutes are mixing (the screen says “Knead”), 80 minutes are for baking, and 16 minutes are for cooling down. Perhaps this will help in setting the times for other machines than the Zo.