Buttermilk Corn Bread Recipe with Cinnamon

Preheat to 355. Grease the pan. Flour it if you’re worried about pulling the loaf out in pieces—totally fair worry. Set that aside and move on.

Why You’ll Love This Buttermilk Bread

Takes 80 minutes total. Twenty of prep, sixty in the oven. Not bad for homemade.

Buttermilk keeps it tender without being dense. The cinnamon swirl isn’t just on top—it runs through the whole thing so every slice tastes like something actually happened.

Vanilla’s there but subtle. Not announcing itself. Just making the crumb taste less like cake and more like bread.

Tastes better the next day. Cold from the counter, toasted, whatever. Works cold too.

What You Need for Buttermilk Corn Bread

Flour. One and three-quarters cups. All-purpose works.

Sugar goes in twice here—two-thirds cup mixed into the batter, then a separate half cup for the cinnamon swirl on top. Sounds excessive. Isn’t.

Baking soda and cream of tartar. Teaspoon and a half teaspoon respectively. These lift the bread without needing yeast. Actually important they’re fresh—old leavening does nothing.

Salt. A quarter teaspoon. Small amount but necessary.

Buttermilk. One cup. Real buttermilk, not regular milk with vinegar in it. Different enough. Not worth the shortcut.

Two eggs. They bind everything. Beat them just enough—don’t go crazy or you’ll end up with rubber.

Melted butter. A third cup. Cool it before mixing or it scrambles the eggs. Let it sit a minute.

Vanilla extract. One teaspoon. Sounds like optional. Isn’t. That vanilla is holding the whole flavor profile together.

Cinnamon. A tablespoon ground. This is the star of the swirl. More cinnamon means better smell while it bakes. More cinnamon means those ribbons actually show up.

How to Make Buttermilk Bread

Heat the oven to 355. Non-negotiable. Too hot and the outside cracks before the inside sets. Too cool and it bakes forever then still comes out pale.

Grease a 9 by 5 loaf pan. Spray or butter. Then flour it—sounds fussy, does nothing, but trust me. That flour layer is what lets you pull the loaf out without half of it staying stuck.

Dry ingredients first. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt. Do this in a medium bowl. Make sure the leavening gets spread through the flour evenly or you’ll have dense spots and airy spots in the same loaf. Whisk longer than feels necessary.

Separate bowl now. Crack the eggs in and beat them just slightly—not foamy, not frothy, just combined. Pour in the buttermilk. Add the cooled melted butter and vanilla. Whisk until it looks uniform. Don’t overbeat this mixture. That’s how you get a tight crumb that feels wrong.

Pour the wet into the dry. Fold gently but actually thoroughly. You want no white streaks of flour showing. But you also don’t want to stir it into oblivion. The batter should be thick but pourable. Not like cake batter. Not like dough either. Something in between.

Getting the Cinnamon Swirl Right

Mix your cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Half cup sugar, tablespoon cinnamon. This matters because unmixed cinnamon clumps and then you get bites of pure cinnamon instead of that swirl effect.

Dollop about a third of the batter into the pan. Smooth it out but not aggressively. Sprinkle two tablespoons of the cinnamon sugar over it. If it’s clumping, press it down with a spoon so it stays in contact with the batter instead of floating on top.

Do it again. Another third of batter. Another two tablespoons cinnamon sugar. Then the final third of batter and top with whatever cinnamon sugar’s left.

The layers matter less than you think. It’s going to swirl and blend some while it bakes. That’s fine. That’s the point.

Bake 55 to 60 minutes. The edges pull away from the pan first—watch for that. The crust gets deep golden brown, almost tan. A toothpick in the center should come out mostly clean. Maybe a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Not wet batter. That matters.

Cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. This is not optional. If you pull it out hot the whole thing falls apart. That resting time firms up the crumb just enough that it holds together. Then flip it onto a wire rack and let it cool all the way. Don’t slice it warm or it’ll shred and stick to the knife.

Buttermilk Corn Bread Recipe with Cinnamon

By Emma

Prep:

20 min

Cook:

60 min

Total:

80 min

Servings:

12 servings

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Method

1. 1 Preheat oven to 355F. Thoroughly grease 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray or butter; flour if feeling cautious. Keeps loaf intact when pulling out—trust me on this.
2. 2 Dry mix first: whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt in medium bowl. Important to blend evenly here so lifting ingredients later is smooth.
3. 3 In separate bowl, beat eggs slightly. Add buttermilk, melted butter (cooled), vanilla. Whisk until combined but don't overbeat. Avoid rubbery texture.
4. 4 Pour wet into dry. Fold gently but thoroughly until no dry streaks remain. Batter should be slightly thick but pourable—not pasty.
5. 5 Mix cinnamon and sugar in small bowl. This is your swirl agent; more cinnamon amps aroma and creates beautiful ribbons inside loaf.
6. 6 Dollop about one-third batter into pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar evenly but don’t clump; spread with spoon if needed.
7. 7 Repeat layering: batter then cinnamon sugar twice more, ending with remaining cinnamon sugar on top for crust punch.
8. 8 Bake 55 to 60 minutes. Watch edges first—should pull away slightly from pan walls and crust shifts to a deep golden brown. Toothpick inserted near center comes out clean with maybe a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
9. 9 Cool loaf in pan 10-15 minutes. This resting phase firms crumb enough for clean removal. Flip onto wire rack; cool fully before slicing or it’ll crumble and stick.
10. 10 Store wrapped at room temp up to 3 days or freeze sliced. Reheat gently—moisture comes alive with mild warmth.

Nutritional information

Calories

300

Protein

4g

Carbs

40g

Fat

15g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Buttermilk Bread

Can I use regular milk instead of buttermilk for this cornbread recipe? No. Buttermilk reacts with the baking soda. That’s what makes it rise and get light. Regular milk doesn’t have the acid. You’d end up with something dense and flat. Not worth trying.

How long does buttermilk bread last at room temperature? Three days wrapped on the counter. After that it starts going stale. Freeze it sliced if you want it longer. Thaws fast. Toasts better than the fresh loaf honestly.

Can I make this without the cinnamon swirl? Yeah. Just skip it. The bread works fine plain. Tastes more like actual bread that way, less like dessert. Still good but different thing entirely.

What if my toothpick comes out wet? Ten more minutes minimum. Check it again. The wet batter part gets thick faster than you’d think—those last few minutes are crucial. Better to overbake slightly than pull it out underdone.

Do I have to cool it in the pan? Yes. Hot bread is soft bread. That 10 to 15 minutes sets the structure enough to survive removal. Try pulling it out before that and you’ll have a disaster.

Can I use buttermilk substitute in my banana nut bread recipe? Depends what you’re doing. For this loaf specifically—stick with real buttermilk. For other banana bread recipes, maybe. This one needs the exact acid balance. Not worth experimenting.