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Bread

Salt-rising Bread

A bread raised by a fermented batter of milk, water, cornmeal and flour, then kneaded and baked in loaves.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 30 ingredients
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Why it works: Flour and raisin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Salt-rising Bread

Ingredients

Directions

Make the starter

  1. Put the 4 pint of milk on the stove and let come to a boil.

  2. Let cool and add the salt and enough cornmeal to make a thick batter. Beat well and set in a warm place overnight.

  3. Then add the 1 pint of warm water and enough flour to make a thick batter, and beat well. Put in a warm place, and in a few hours it will be light.

Make and bake the bread

  1. Put 3 quarts of flour, 1 tablespoon of lard, and 1 tablespoon of salt into the rising, and add enough warm milk and water (equal parts) to make a rather stiff dough. Knead thoroughly.

  2. Shape into loaves and let rise to double the bulk. Bake 50 or 60 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1115Calories
36 gProtein
36 gFat
163 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Sour Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Lard1 tbsp (12.8g)115
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Flour + raisintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,075 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,721 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  4. Molasses + buttermilktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together526 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Molasses + raisintop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,577 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flour
Forms the dough structure that holds the gas produced during rising.
Milk
Adds moisture and richness to the dough and helps the starter ferment.
Lard
Adds fat, which softens the crumb and gives a tender texture.
Salt
Controls fermentation pace and adds flavor to the dough.

The step that matters

Let the starter rise until light before adding flour. The starter must be fully fermented and bubbly before the rest of the flour goes in. Under-risen starter gives a dense loaf, and a slow rise needs a warm place to become active.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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