How to Make Salt Rising Bread

This recipe comes from an expert Salt Rising Bread baker Susan Brown, who grew up in Greenbrier County. Susan is working to research the history of Salt Rising Bread, along with another baker, Jenny Bardwell, who owns a bakery in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania. Susan’s starter, or “raisin,” as she calls it, uses fewer ingredients than most recipes and has no sugar or salt in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVAChVAI_S0

Ingredients:

3 tsp Corn Meal

1 tsp Flour

1/8 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 cup Scalded Milk

Preparation:

Pour milk onto dry ingredients and stir.

Keep warm overnight until foamy.

After “raisin” has foamed and has a “rotten cheese” smell, in a medium sized bowl, add 2 cups of warm water to mixture, then enough flour (about 1 ½ cup) to make like a thin pancake batter. Stir and let rise again until becomes foamy. This usually takes about 2 hours.

Next, add one cup of warm water for each loaf of bread you want to make, up to 6 loaves (e.g. six cups of water makes six loaves of bread). Add enough flour (20 cups for 6 loaves, or about one 5 pound bag of flour + 1/3 bag). Form into loaves; grease tops of loaves. Let rise in greased pans for several hours, maybe 2-6 hours.

Bake at 300F for 30 to 45 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.

(If you want to save some of the “raisin” for the next batch, take one cup of batter out of mixture after you have added the 2 cups of warm water and flour to make a thin pancake batter, and after it has risen the second time.)

For other recipes, visit Susan Brown’s website dedicated to Salt Rising Bread. Fore more of Susan Brown and Jenny Bardwell’s story about their quest to research the history of salt rising bread click here to listen to Glynis Board’s radio piece from WVPB.

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Category: Blog, Food & Farming