Salt Rising Bread

gdubya,

I have no personal experience with making salt rising bread. I remember eating some that my grandmother made back when I was in elementary school and not really caring for it. Mom's yeasted breads were more to my taste. Dunno what I would think of it today.

You could start here: http://home.comcast.net/~petsonk/

Or google on "salt rising" and you'll have over 21,000 additional choices. Have fun!

PMcCool

I was experimenting with some whole wheat soakers left at 100F the other day and noticed some interesting activity which I can only assume to be microbiological (the smell was a bit funky!)

One of the soakers had salt in, the other did not.  Both showed signs of some sort of organism at work after about 12 hours.

The funky smell (hard to describe - was not like anything I've come across before with my sourdough starter) - put me off trying to bake the samples (the salty dough had less odour) but I'm curious to know if the organism at work might have been Clostridium Perfrigens - the salt-rising bacterium... 

Anyone else have similar experiences? Is this safe to bake and eat...or am I possibly cultivating something far less palatable...?

I have made salt rising bread a time or two, and I would say it smells more like a stronger cheese. 

You have to make sure the corn meal you use is the whole grain and fresh.  I really like it and have found a yogurt maker a good place to let it get all foamy. 

Since it is more of a bread for delicious toast, it seems to stay fresh a little longer than other bread.  Boy is it good all slathered with good butter.  The reason I rarely make it.  Terry

I've been curious about Salt Rising Bread ever since I saw it mentioned in Little House on the Prairie books.  I like to find out and try the old ways of doing things.  I'm going to give this a try sometime, although, once my crew smells the "old sock" smell, they'll never taste it!  :)

Another thing mention in the LHOTP books that piqued my interest was "crackling cornbread".  It always sounded so crunchy and delicious.  I did a little research on it and am going to try that someday, too.  (Also found a way to make "cracklin's" from chicken skins....tried it and it's good!)

Yes Salt Rising Bread is tricky and does not always come out.  Here is a recipe that I have used.

Incidentally, King Arthur Flour at one time sold a "Salt Rising Yeast", but unfortunately they have discontinur=ed that item.  It made good bread reproducibly.

SALT-RISING BREAD, TRADITIONAL

[1/2" slice: 62 g, 148 cal, 4.3g prot, 2.3g fat, 27.2 g carb.]

STARTER (S. R. BREAD)
 
2 medium, raw, peeled, thinly sliced potatoes
1 quart boiling water
1/3 cup cornmeal (stone ground process)
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tspn. (0.1 oz.) salt

Put the thinly sliced potatoes in a large bowl, then pour in boiling water.  Sprinkle on the sugar, salt, and cornmeal.  Place the bowl in a larger bowl of hot water and put it in a warm (about 110°F) spot where the temperature remains fairly steady.  Do not cover!!!  The starter must then be foaming, with some corn meal and perhaps even a few slices of potato floating.  It will have a strong odor.  Don’t let it sit much longer or it may become too sour and mask the flavor of the bread.  Remove the potato slices and discard them.

SPONGE (S. R. BREAD)
 
1 1/2 cups (10 oz.) scalded, tepid whole milk
1/4 tspn. baking soda
3 1/2 (14.9 oz.) cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 tspn. (0.1 oz.) sugar
 

Scald milk (190°F) then cool to 110°F.  Add baking soda to the starter and stir.  Then add milk, sugar, and unbleached flour.  Beat briskly until smooth, then cover with a plastic wrap and again place in a larger bowl of hot water.  Set in a warm (110°F) place, and let the sponge rise.  This may take as much as 5 hours, or as little as 2 hours.  When ready, the sponge will look creamy and will have foam on top, and still have the strong cheese odor.  If insufficient rising at this point, the dough probably will not rise sufficiently.

DOUGH (S. R. BREAD)
 
8 - 10 cups (34 – 42 oz.) unbleached flour or bread flour
1 tspn. sugar
2 1/2 tspn. (0.5 oz.) salt
1/4 cup Crisco shortening
solid shortening for greasing pans
melted butter for brushing dough
water in a sprayer (optional)
 

Put 4 cups of flour, 1 tspn. sugar and 2 1/2 tspn. salt into a large bowl, and blend.  Add shortening in small pieces and blend in as for pie dough, until the mixture looks like fine meal.  Add the flour mixture to the sponge and beat until well mixed.  Then add enough flour (4 - 5 cups, or more) to make a soft, manageable dough that you can knead.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for a minute or two, adding flour as necessary.  Let it rest for ten minutes.  Resume the kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding flour as necessary.  Divide into three loaves (about 2 3/4 lb. each), and shape each piece to fit the loaf pans.  Place each into a greased loaf pan, brush with melted butter, and cover with plastic wrap.  Set loaf pans in a larger pan of hot water, and set all in a warm place (110°F) to rise.  This final rise takes about 2 to 5 hours, and the loaves should double the original volume.  (I have found that this bread will not rise quite as much other bread.)

BAKING (S. R. BREAD)
Preheat oven to 375°F (optionally, with a pan of boiling water on the bottom shelf) and the middle shelf reserved for the bread pans.  When the dough has risen (you may spray the dough with water, and) place immediately into the oven.  Spray the loaves 3 additional times at 2 minute intervals to permit additional rising.  Bake until the interior temperature of the loaves is 200°F.  They should sound hollow when thumped with a finger on the bottom, about 60 minutes.  It is better to overbake than to risk underbaking.  Turn out on to a cooling rack, brush with butter, and cover with a damp cloth until cooled.  Bread may then be packaged and frozen.

NOTES (S. R. BREAD)
To me, making Salt Rising Bread is mostly art and very little science.  We do not know the causes for some of my failures, though we are still trying to determine them.  We suggest that anyone trying this recipe, not make substitutions, and take all the precautions listed, until after at least one success.  We would like very much to know what substitutions are safe and what precautions are unnecessary.  We believe the primary source of failure is the lack of sufficient organisms reaching the starter to make an active leaven, see below.
A proofing oven is ideal for the various rising steps.  One can be made of a large cardboard box with a light bulb for heat.  (Do not let the bulb touch the box.)  We have used an electric oven and manually adjusted the temperature, but this is tricky.  Leaving the oven light bulb on will give a warm environment.  A gas oven with only the pilot light on will work, as will the top of a hot water heater.
Be sure to measure the temperature of the proofing oven (or area) — too high a temperature kills the organisms and too low (below 100°F) will not permit fast enough growth.  A temperature of 110°F seems to be about ideal for proofing.  The initial temperature of water in which the dough container rests may be as hot as 140°F.  This yeast seems to like a higher temperature than normal yeast.
Do NOT cover the potato and cornmeal starter.  We believe the most important source of the leavening organism is the atmosphere we breathe.  We have experimented with covered and uncovered starters.  The uncovered worked and the covered did not!  It is probably a good idea not to attempt the starter, if it is raining or snowing, since these clear the air of some of the yeast spores.
Do not use any product that has a live culture in it such as sweet acidophilus milk, yogurt, or buttermilk.  Or, at least scald (190°F for 10 minutes) such a product to kill any active organisms.  The organisms may be antagonistic to the leavening organism.
Be careful of preservatives that may be in the various ingredients.  They may kill the leavening organism.  Salt is a preservative; too much will slow or stop the leavening process.
If at any time in the process the product does not appear to be working, i.e., generating the gases needed for proper rising, discard it, and start over.  The starter must generate a good deal of foam, the sponge must also foam, and the dough must increase in bulk by 100%.  Possible causes for not working include the following.  (1) Cornmeal is too refined, or contains preservative or has been heated.  (2) The starter mixture is covered so that spores cannot get to the nutrients.  (3) A product containing an antagonistic culture, or a preservative was used.  (4) Improper rising temperatures were used.
To avoid off flavors, do not use vessels or utensils for the starter or the sponge in which bare aluminum, copper, or iron is exposed.  Good stainless steel is acceptable.
Adapted from Fanny Farmer Baking Book, by Marion Cunningham, Knopf, New York 1984

I will heartily advocate for Ford's salt rising bread recipe.  I have had much success with it and yes, it makes wonderful toast.  Follow his instructions to the "T" and you'll be glad you did.