Sourdough Cornbread Muffins

These sourdough cornbread muffins are a quick and tasty way to use up some of your sourdough starter.  

These muffins, even though they contain a tiny bit of maple syrup, are for those who prefer their cornbread on the savory side. They are slightly crumbly and wonderful for dunking into chilis and stews. 

I made these to go with enchilada soup and they hit the spot. 

If you like, you can add any number of ingredients, including corn kernels, jalapeños, bacon, chopped herbs, or grated cheese. 

If you maintain a sourdough starter, muffins are such a great way to use some of it when you are refreshing your starter and getting it ready to make bread. I sometimes will leave my starter for a few weeks in the refrigerator without feeding it, so it may need a couple of feedings to get it nice and bubbly. 

Rather than tossing most of my starter, I love making crackers or muffins (or even onion rings) with the extra. 

Ingredients:

Cornmeal: Either fine or medium grind. 

From the Fridge: Buttermilk, unsalted butter, eggs, and maple syrup. 

From the Pantry: Salt and baking soda. 

Sourdough Starter: 100% hydration (equal parts water and flour by weight). 

To Make These Muffins:

First, in one bowl, combine the cornmeal, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine the eggs, maple syrup, buttermilk, and melted butter. Add the sourdough starter to the wet ingredients and then add the dry ingredients. 

Next, portion the batter (it will be very liquid) among 12 paper lined muffin pan cavities and begin baking the muffins at 425 degrees F. After five minutes, lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and continue baking for 20 minutes more. 

Finally, let the muffins cool a bit on a wire rack. They are delicious served warm with butter. 

These muffins will keep nicely in an airtight container for about three days. You can also individually wrap them and freeze them for later. 

To rewarm them, you can microwave them for about 20 seconds. 

More Corn Muffins You May Also Enjoy:

Honey Corn Muffins (for those who prefer their cornbread on the sweeter side)

Cheesy Corn and Bacon Muffins

Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins

Bacon Scallion Corn Muffins

Zucchini and Roasted Corn Muffins

Corn Dog Mini Muffins

More Muffin Recipes from the Muffin Monday Group!

• Blood Orange Yogurt Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Dried Cherry Oatmeal Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Sourdough Cornbread Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spiced Cocoa Muffins from A Messy Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

Sourdough Cornbread Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Author: Karen Kerr

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min

These sourdough cornbread muffins are a quick and tasty way to use up some of your sourdough starter.

Ingredients

• 230 grams (1 1/3 cups) corn meal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 311 grams (1 1/3 cups) room temperature buttermilk
• 2 large room temperature eggs, whisked
• 23 grams (1 heaping tablespoon) maple syrup
• 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 196 grams (scant cup) 100 percent hydration sourdough starter discard

Instructions

1. Line a 12-cavity muffin tin with paper liners and heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, salt, and baking soda.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, maple syrup, and melted butter. Stir in the sourdough starter.
4. Add the cornmeal mixture to the buttermilk mixture and stir. The batter will be fairly thin.
5. Portion the batter among the muffin cups, up to about 3/8 inches from the rims.
6. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes on the center rack and then lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for 20 minutes more, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool for five minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

155

Fat (grams)

7 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

3 g

Carbs (grams)

20 g

Fiber (grams)

2 g

Net carbs

18 g

Sugar (grams)

3 g

Protein (grams)

4 g

Cholesterol (grams)

44 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2025/01/sourdough-cornbread-muffins.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

cornbread, sourdough

muffins

American

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Recipe adapted from The Perfect Loaf: The Craft and Science of Sourdough Breads, Sweets, and More: A Baking Book by Marizio Leo.