Mealie Bread

This easy, delicious, moist mealie bread (mealiebrood) is a South African sweetcorn bread made with creamed corn. This recipe requires a few everyday kitchen ingredients. It makes a great side dish for any braai or barbeque and is equally good on its own.

Mealie bread is a common, easy quick bread found in South Africa and Eswatini (Swaziland). The first recipe dates back to 1840. It is a cornbread that came about in South Africa.

Mealie bread is a quick bread that is leavened with baking powder and made from mealies (corn or sweet corn), flour, eggs, sugar, and sometimes additional mealie meal (maize meal) or polenta.

In South Africa, maize or corn is typically called mealies. The word mealie comes from the Portuguese word milho. Corn was originally brought to Southern Africa by the Portuguese from the Americas and quickly became a staple food across the region.

Mealie meal is a coarse flour made from maize, which is usually white in color, similar to cornmeal or Italian polenta.

This particular recipe has been in my handwritten recipe book with many annotations, variations, and perfections over the years.

Mealie bread is typically served at a braai (or barbeque), but I also enjoy it by itself as a snack or served with butter and honey.

For more South African recipes click here!

Recipe Update Notes

This mealie bread recipe was updated and retested with amounts that would allow for easier conversion from grams to cups. Plus I decreased the baking powder a touch. And also tested this recipe using flour only, for an easy substitute for polenta or maizemeal.

The original recipe consisted of 225 grams of flour, 150 grams of polenta, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 eggs, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 125 mL of milk, 1 teaspoon of salt, 60 grams of melted butter, and 1 tin of creamed corn. The instructions remain the same.

Why You Will Love This South African Cornbread

• This quick and easy South African mealie bread is a delicious moist cornbread that can be served as a side dish or enjoyed by itself.
• This cornbread made with creamed corn can be served with butter and honey, but I also enjoy it by itself.
• This mealie bread is the perfect accompaniment to any braai or barbeque.

Ingredients

Here are some notes on the ingredients used in this recipe. Please see the recipe card for quantities.

• A tin or can of creamed corn or creamed-style corn. Creamed corn is an essential ingredient in a South African Mealie Bread. It adds a delicious corn flavor as well as moisture to this quick bread recipe.
• Plain flour (standard grade or all-purpose flour) is used to make this bread.
  • Self-raising or self-rising flour can be used as a substitute. Simply skip adding the additional baking powder to the recipe.
• Room-temperature eggs (medium/large) are used to bind this quick bread together. Pull the eggs out of the fridge about 20 minutes before you start baking. If you forget, simply pop the eggs into lukewarm water to take the chill off the eggs.
• Butter adds some flavor, softness, and moisture to this mealie bread.
• Maize meal or polenta adds an additional maize flavor to this bread. I opted for polenta in my particular recipes because it is easier to find than maize meal here in New Zealand.
  • If you don't have polenta, it can be substituted with plain flour. Simply increase the amount of flour in this recipe to a total of 360 grams or 3 cups.
• Room-temperature milk adds some more moisture to this bread. I typically use whole milk or full-fat milk in my recipes. However, you can use a lower-fat version or even soy milk. Measure the milk and allow it to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Or pop it into the microwave for 10-20 seconds to take the chill off the milk.
• Sugar - there is a touch of sugar in this recipe, just to add a hint of sweetness.
  • Sugar can be substituted with condensed milk.
• Salt enhances the flavor of the other ingredients in this mealie bread recipe.
• Paprika - we like adding some paprika to our recipe, however, this is a 100% optional additional.
• Baking powder is used to leaven or give this bread rise. Remember to replace your baking powder if it is expired.

All my recipes are developed and tested in grams only. As weighing ingredients is more accurate, however, I have activated the "M" to "US" buttons for your convenience.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Step 1 - Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F. Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment or baking paper, making sure to leave an overhang for easy removal of the bread.

Step 4 - Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out mostly clean from the center of the loaf.

NOTE - to help the bread split open in the middle during baking (which also allows the bread to rise), place either a thin band of melted butter or cut thin 2mm x 2mm strips of butter and place in the center of the bread.

Step 5 - Allow the bread to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before placing it on a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve with butter and honey.

NOTE - the top loaf in the picture below contains mealie bread with polenta and the bottom loaf without polenta.

Storage and Freezing

Store this mealie bread in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Keep in mind that this is a moist quickbread, and should the weather be rather warm, store the bread in the fridge instead.

Alternatively, you can freeze the mealie bread by wrapping it in cling film and tin or aluminum foil for up to 3 months.

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