Name: Simple Sourdough Discard Cast Iron Cornbread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1480 min
Ingredients: 140 g Lard; 50 g Sugar; 2 Eggs; 100 g Sourdough Discard; 120 g Milk; 50 g White Flour; 75 g Whole Wheat Flour; 100 g Cornmeal; 2 tsp Baking Powder; 1/2 tsp Baking Soda; 1 tsp Salt

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The perfect pairing for a warm autumn chili is simple sourdough discard cornbread in cast iron! This delightful bread combines cornmeal, whole wheat flour, and just a bit of white flour to give it that fluffy texture. The addition of sourdough adds a unique depth of flavour and moisture, baking in cast iron gives it that signature crisp, making it a perfect partner to fall soups and stews.

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Cornbread is the perfect companion to chili and this one hits the spot every time! I love the flavour of corn combined with the softness of wheat, creating a delightful balance. This cornbread holds together beautifully while maintaining a soft and tender texture, making it ideal for dipping and soaking up all that soupy goodness. Best served warm with a generous amount of butter!

Baking in a cast iron skillet is just the icing on the cake. It gives it the perfect crispy texture and toasted flavour.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

it’s quick and easy to put together
can be long fermented
packed with fibre from the whole grains
gets the BEST crisp from the cast iron skillet

Sourdough Starter

If you’re here, I’m assuming you have a sourdough starter and generally know how to use it. It is beyond the scope of this post to teach you how to create and maintain a sourdough starter.

If you haven’t made one already, read my post on how to make a sourdough starter from scratch.

Once you have an established sourdough starter and you know how to identify when it’s active or needs a fresh feeding, you’re pretty much good to go. It doesn’t matter much whether its thin, batter-like, or stiff, a healthy starter will make healthy bread.

If you have a sourdough starter but are having trouble understanding it, learn more with the ultimate guide to understanding your sourdough starter.

Luckily, this recipe only requires sourdough discard!

What Is Sourdough Discard?

Sourdough “discard” refers to excess sourdough starter or starter that isn’t at its prime for leavening bread but still holds excellent fermentation capabilities. While it may not be suitable for raising bread, this discard can still ferment and enhance other baked goods. This is why there are so many sourdough discard recipes available online, allowing you to make use of this valuable byproduct.

You can use sourdough discard to make sourdough rhubarb walnut muffins, sourdough einkorn chocolate chip cookies, sourdough honey sweetened banana bread, sourdough rye brownies, rye discard crackers, and even sourdough pumpkin spice oatmeal muffins! The possibilities are literally endless.

If you’re really enjoying working with whole grains but you don’t have a mill you love yet, consider a Harvest NutriMill! This is the one I use almost everyday and love both for its beauty and practicality.

Get your Harvest NutriMill when you’re ready to invest using this link and my discount code BRONSBREAD20 at checkout to get $20 off your order!

browse nutrimill

If you’re really enjoying working with fresh-milled whole-grains and you have a reliable source of grain, you can also consider a Harvest NutriMill which is the one I use almost everyday and love both for its beauty and practicality.

Get your Harvest NutriMill when you’re ready to invest using this link and my discount code BRONSBREAD20 at checkout to get $20 off your order!

Sourdough Discard Cast Iron Cornbread FAQ

Yes! If you have a grain mill, you can actually make corn meal out of popping corn, in a pinch. I’ve done it for cornbread and it works fine!

Set your mill to the coarsest setting and run the popcorn through. Set the mill to a slightly finer setting and running the coarsely milled popcorn corn through. Repeat until you achieve corn meal texture and mill it even finer to get corn flour!

Nope! You can use an 8″x 8″ glass baking dish. Grease and flour and use the same as cast iron.

Yes! Just recipe the white flour with more whole wheat.

Flavour Variations

This corn bread is great, nice and simple. But if you wanted to spice it up a bit, you could add a couple extra things.

Chili Flakes: 1 tsp to the batter would add a subtle spiciness!
Green Onion: Finely chop green onion to make around a loose 1/4 cup of chopped green onion.
Corn: Drain a can of corn and add 1/4-1/2 cup to the batter.
Cheese: Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar to cheese it up!
Chopped Jalapeños: Around 1-3 tbsp of finely diced jalapeños depending on how spicey you likey.

Serving Suggestion

Best served with homemade chili! Or soup, or as a snack on its own.

Materials

Medium mixing bowl
Silicone spatula
Small saucepan
10″ Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients

Lard: Lard is traditional for corn bread but you can substitute the lard for coconut oil or butter or a combination of fats! Learn to render your own lard here.

Sugar: To compliment the sweetness of the corn.

Eggs: Regular large eggies.

Sourdough Discard: Active or over-fermented starter.

Milk: Buttermilk, milk, or cream.

Flour: A blend of whole wheat and white.

Cornmeal: Homemade or store bought!

Baking Powder & Baking Soda: The dynamic duo.

Salt: Obviously.

How To Make Simple Sourdough Discard Cornbread in Cast Iron

Melt the Lard: In your cast iron skillet, melt the lard. Once melted, pour into a mixing bowl.

Combine Ingredients: Add sugar, eggs, and sourdough discard to the bowl. Mix until fully incorporated, then stir in the milk.

Add Dry Ingredients: Gradually mix in the whole wheat flour, white flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and any optional additions you desire.

Form the Batter: Mix all the ingredients together until a smooth batter forms. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate for 24 hours for a cold ferment.

Preheat the Oven: When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Prepare a 10″ cast iron skillet by generously greasing with lard (you can spread what remained from melting) and flouring it.

Pour the Batter: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish, spreading it evenly.

Bake: Bake for around 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden and crisp, and a toothpick inserted in the centrre comes out clean.

Cool and Serve: Allow the cornbread to cool in the baking dish for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with chili!