Salt Rising Bread Recipe
Salt rising bread is a simple cornmeal and flour bread. Prepared with milk and shortening, the salt rising bread is leavened with the salt in the recipe and makes a nice and soft bread.
Ingredients
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups white corn meal
8-10 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
Directions
Scald milk, remove from heat, and stir in corn meal, sugar, and salt until smooth.
Cover with a tea towel and set in a warm place overnight.
The following morning, add 1 cup warm water mixed with baking soda and about 2 1/2 cups flour (enough to make a rather stiff batter).
Set the bowl of batter in a pan of warm water, cover, and let stand until it foams up (this can take from 2 hours to half a day).
Try to keep the water at an even temperature all the time not too hot, not too cold.
If it seems as though the batter is not rising, give it a stir to help it along.
Some people object to the odor during this period but, as Practical Housekeeping explained, this is "the result of acetous [or sour] fermentation, but the more of that the more sure you are of having sweet bread when baked." When the batter has risen, knead in shortening and more flour (it may take as many as 8 cups) to make a stiff bread dough.
Shape into 2 loaves, set in greased loaf pans, and let rise until double in bulk.
Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 1 hour or until light brown in color.
Cover with a tea towel and set in a warm place overnight.
The following morning, add 1 cup warm water mixed with baking soda and about 2 1/2 cups flour (enough to make a rather stiff batter).
Set the bowl of batter in a pan of warm water, cover, and let stand until it foams up (this can take from 2 hours to half a day).
Try to keep the water at an even temperature all the time not too hot, not too cold.
If it seems as though the batter is not rising, give it a stir to help it along.
Some people object to the odor during this period but, as Practical Housekeeping explained, this is "the result of acetous [or sour] fermentation, but the more of that the more sure you are of having sweet bread when baked." When the batter has risen, knead in shortening and more flour (it may take as many as 8 cups) to make a stiff bread dough.
Shape into 2 loaves, set in greased loaf pans, and let rise until double in bulk.
Bake in a preheated 350° oven for about 1 hour or until light brown in color.
Comments
Comments: 2 |
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mattmmille says :
Actually, the salt does not leaven the bread. A bowl of heated salt used to be used to hold the bowl of starter...it held heat very well and for a long time. People usually use an oven with the lightbulb on and the bowl of starter set as close to it as possible "nowadays". And the scalded milk's temperature should be brought down to around 110 degrees, but there is no yeast in the cornmeal. In fact, there is no yeast in this bread at all (unless a little wild yeast dops in from the air). The leavening comes from a fermentation process. Scalding the milk is supposed to kill of any competing bacteria.
Posted on: 12 April 2012 - 7:20pm
Ron Shepherd says :
It seems to me the scalded milk should be cooled before adding the cornmeal. Otherwise, won't the heat destroy any yeast in the cornmeal and you wind up with a starter that does not start?
Posted on: 14 May 2010 - 7:40am
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