This kefir fermented honey thyme sourdough cornbread is more nutritious than your typical cornbread, easy on digestion and naturally sweetened!
Using milk kefir to ferment the batter adds extra yumminess to the bread, without the maintenance of the sourdough starter. The tanginess of the kefir resembles the flavour of lemon, which pairs really well with honey and thyme to make this cornbread extra special.
Milk Kefir As Starter
Do you make new year goals? I do. I try to keep them small and achievable. This year, I want to give it a try at making traditional sourdough bread. It’s a goal of mine, because I have been intimidated by the maintenance of the sourdough starter, considering I already have my kombucha, milk kefir, water kefir, fermented vegetables and kids to take care of.
To avoid maintaining a sourdough starter, I have been taking shortcuts to sour my breads with kefir and all sorts of other live culture liquids. Note that I used my home-made organic whole milk kefir to ferment this sourdough cornbread. I have not tested with any store-bought kefir, so I don’t know if store-bought will work the same. If you tried, let me know in the comment below.
Now, you will probably ask, “doesn’t home-made kefir require meaintanance?” Yes, but nobody makes milk kefir at home solely to use as a sourdough starter. It’s no extra work, and the older batches of kefir that started going yeasty are great to be used up as an extra potent souring agent in baking.
Sourdough Cornbread Is Healthy
I love eating cornbreads, but I could hardly find any being sold in grocery stores, let alone fermented ones. I had to make my own, then this kefir fermented sourdough cornbread was born. The fact that the batter was fermented with whole milk kefir, added the extra layer of tanginess and complexity. My kids kept asking to bring them to school in their lunch boxes.
Now let’s look at the positives of a fermented sourdough cornbread, or any sourdough breads. The grains are fermented to negate the effects of phytates, making the bread more digestible and nutritious. Even many gluten-intolerant people reported that they can eat fermented sourdough bread containing wheat, as a result of the gluten being pre-digested during fermentation. I don’t have gluten sensitivity, so I can’t tell the difference of eating fermented vs. non-fermented wheat products. If you have tested out for yourself, I would love to hear your experience.
Steps For Making The Batter
The following images illustrate the steps to make the the sourdough cornbread batter.
- Melt the butter, take care to make sure it’s not hot, then combine with eggs, honey, and milk kefir.
- Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl.
- Combine cornmeal, flour, salt and thyme.
- Mix all dry ingredients.
- Gently fold in the wet ingredients, until evenly combined. Do not over mix.
Is it Safe to Use Raw Eggs?
Some people may be concerned about using raw eggs in the batter, because the batter is left out in room temperature to ferment for 12 hours. Personally, I am comfortable with eggs in this recipe, because the acidity and probiotics in the milk kefir should keep salmonella in check and the batter safe. However, I want to bring up this topic. When it comes to health and safety, please use your own discretion.
Fermentation Tips
- Older kefir too yeasty to drink are great to use as starter in baking. Older kefir are usually stronger and faster at fermenting the batter as well.
- Leave the batter covered in room temperature to ferment for 12 hours, or overnight. I would make the batter before going to bed, and bake it the next day.
- After the batter is fermented, you will see small air hoes in the batter, and the batter is light and fluffy. Very gently transfer the batter into a loaf pan. Do not stir the batter to make it sink back down.
Related: More Milk Kefir Recipes You Will Love
- Superfoods Kefir Maca Smoothie
- Mango Kefir Ice Cream w/o Ice Cream Maker {Video}
- Raspberry Kefir Cream Cheese Spread
- Kefir Cheese Smoked Salmon Wrap (Probiotic Sushi + Brain Food)
- 3 Ingredient Strawberry Kefir Popsicles (GAPS, Gluten-Free)
- Overnight Banana Spelt Pancakes: Fermented for Better Nutrition and Digestion
- Probiotic Kefir Tzatziki Dip
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This kefir fermented honey thyme sourdough cornbread is more nutritious than your typical cornbread and easy on digestion!
- 1/4 cup grass-fed unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cup organic whole milk kefir (See recipe notes #1)
- 2 large organic eggs
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 1 1/4 cup fine ground cornmeal
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt or Himalayan salt
- 3 tbsp thyme
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Melt the butter, take care to make sure it's not hot, then combine with eggs, honey, and milk kefir. Mix all wet ingredients in a bowl.
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Combine cornmeal, flour, salt and thyme. Mix all dry ingredients, then gently fold in the wet ingredients, until evenly combined. Do not over mix.
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Leave the batter covered in room temperature to ferment for 12 hours, or overnight.
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Very gently transfer the batter into a 9"x5" regular size loaf pan (I use a silicone loaf pan). You should see air holes in the batter and the batter is light and fluffy. Do not stir the batter to make it sink back down. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400ºF for 40 minutes or until the inside is no longer wet.
- I used home-made kefir from real kefir grains. Older kefir too yeasty to drink are great to use as starter in baking. Older kefir are usually stronger and faster at fermenting the batter as well.
- This kefir fermented sourdough cornbread tastes best when it's hot out of the oven.
I just made this wonderful cornbread. The flavor is exceptional, however, it wasn’t light and fluffy. Do you have any suggestions to improve the lightness. I did allow the mixture with the kefir to sit for 12 hours at room temperature. Thanks!
Hi Michelle, I am glad you love the flavour! I think kefir fermented bread, especially with a large portion being cornmeal, isn’t going to be as light and fluffy as made with a commercial leaven. I try not to disturb the batter when it’s done fermentation. If I have to transfer to a baking dish, I do it so gently. The batter does become much lighter after fermentation, and the bread is very soft when hot out of the oven. I agree it does become dense once cooled down, and I think that’s the nature of this bread, so we try to eat as much possible when it’s still hot. 🙂
I used to make my own kefir from kefir grains too. Also, I lived most of my life in Russia, and we have real kefir there in every single store, with the expiration date 2-3 days! So as yogurt and other dairy products… I really miss real dairy! (live in US now but visit Russia every summer)
How cool is that Tatiana! My cousin-in-law is from Russia. Just based on hearing from her, I would love to visit Russia one day and explore the amazing traditional foods there.
What a neat idea – I LOVE cornbread but don’t eat it very often, fermenting would totally make me try it more often. Thanks!
Thank you so much!
This looks like it could go really well with soup and chili! Looks really good, will try this!
This cornbread is so beautiful!!! I love that it’s a sourdough cornbread, so much better for the body. Beautiful photos!!!
The photos for this recipe are so incredibly beautiful! Honestly, I am in awe. I wonder if this recipe might work with a gluten free all purpose mix substituted in there, I’d love to try it 🙂
I replaced the wheat flour with corn flour and it turned out great! I’m considering trying smelt or chickpea flower for my next batch
Thanks for the recipe!
Great to hear! Did you use Masa corn flour to replace all wheat flour? In Canada, it’s very hard to find masa corn flour, our cornmeal here don’t stick, thus I had to mix with wheat flour. If I can find some Masa corn flour, I will try that too. Thanks for sharing!
I’m always SOOO excited. 😉 …when I see recipes that soak for better digestion. This one’s beautiful. I love that thyme and honey with the cornmeal, wow and yum!!
As a Southern girl, this is speaking to my roots in all sorts of warm and fuzzy ways. That honey and thyme?? The souring with kefir? SWOON.
You had me at Fermented! I love fermented foods. Unfortunately I don’t eat grains, but I will be passing this recipe on to some of my clients who do.
Wow this looks so fluffy and good!!
I’ve never thought to ferment a cornbread, great idea!! I would sub in a gluten free flour of some sort, and I love using my kefir whenever I can!
Looks amazing!! And what a great idea to use kefir. Healthy AND delicious!
What a gorgeous bread! I have never had sourdough cornbread, it sounds divine!