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Bread

Salt Rising Bread

A bread made from cornmeal, flour, water and salt, baked after rising.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Salt Rising Bread

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the starter

  1. Scald the cornmeal with sweet milk and set it in a warm place overnight.

  2. In the morning, fill a quart vessel ⅓ full of warm salted water and thicken with flour until the batter drops from the spoon.

  3. Add the lightened cornmeal and set it in a warm place.

  4. When the mixture rises to the top of the vessel, scald 2 quarts of flour with 1 pint of boiling water.

Mix and shape

  1. Add enough cold water to make a batter, then add the rising mixture and salt.

  2. When light, add sufficient flour to mold into loaves and knead well.

Bake

  1. Put into pans and let rise, then bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 350°F (175°C).

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.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Cornmeal
Ferments with the warm water to start the rising mixture that leavens the loaves.
Flour
Builds the batter and dough structure, giving the loaves body and a sturdy crumb.
Warm salted water
Hydrates the flour and provides the moist environment where the starter works.
Salt
Controls the fermentation pace and adds flavor to the dough.

The step that matters

Letting the starter rise fully before adding the scalded flour. The starter must reach the top of the vessel and look light before it is mixed in. Under-fermented starter gives little lift, while a warm, slow rise lets the mixture develop gas and flavor.

“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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