We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Cornbread mix is a pantry staple that’s there for you when the craving strikes — especially when a comforting homestyle meal is involved. While boxed cornbread sometimes tastes even better than the best homemade cornbread recipes, some store-bought brands really stand out. To help you stock up on the quality stuff, Tasting Table recently taste-tested and ranked 10 boxed cornbreads from worst to best. And perhaps surprisingly, the cornbread mix that came in second is from a brand you probably know for yeast: Fleischmann’s.
If your mind just jumped to those little yellow and red packets of active dry yeast, yep, that’s the one. Fleischmann’s, known, trusted, and self-proclaimed as “the brand bakers trust,” has been around since the late 1800s. When it comes to its more recent “Simply Homemade” line, the longstanding brand delivers a quality boxed cornbread — one that even received the 2015 ChefsBest Best Taste Award.
In our review of popular store-bought cornbread mixes, Tasting Table writer Sara Klimek agreed that Fleischmann’s Cornbread Baking Mix was noteworthy, writing, “I would gladly eat one of these for a not-too-sweet breakfast or as a companion to a big bowl of Texas red chili.” However, in the end, she ranked the yeast brand’s muffins second to Bob’s Red Mill Golden Cornbread Mix. While Fleischmann’s cornbread muffins had a nice “subtle, soft buttermilk flavor” and were easy to make and remove from the pan, they didn’t rise quite as well as those from the Bob’s Red Mill brand.
Read more: 10 Classic Comfort Foods Midwesterners Love
Cornbread texture and taste considerations
Closeup of a box of Fleischmann’s corn bread mix and muffins on a table – Sara Klimek/Tasting Table
We know what you’re probably thinking: Isn’t it ironic that the cornbread from the leavening ingredient experts didn’t rise as well as our top-ranking pick? First, yeast for bread and pizza dough is a far different story than the chemical leavening agents used in cornbread. And second, it’s not clear if Fleischmann’s was appealing to customers who like their cornbread a little more dense, or if they could have secured the top spot on our list by improving the rise a bit. Whatever the case, comparing the ingredient lists of both top-performing cornbreads reveals that Fleischmann’s uses baking powder in its mix, while Bob’s Red Mill uses a combination of baking powder and baking soda — a duo that some bakers claim achieves the perfect balance of rise and flavor in baking.
Overall, we gave top rankings to the cornbread mixes that came out moist and fluffy and tasted authentic. All-in-all, your top choice could come down to personal preference. If a more pronounced corn flavor is your ultimate barometer of quality cornbread, you might choose Fleischmann’s since cornmeal is listed first on the ingredient deck. Klimek preferred Bob’s Red Mill since it offered “the perfect ratio of cornmeal to flour,” but the only way to find out which boxed mix reigns supreme on your own table is to bake up one (or a few) for yourself.
Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we’re helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Dining and Cooking