Salt Rising Bread

5 from 8 votes

You'll love this delicious and unique bread that is native to the Appalachian Mountains area and dates back to the mid to late 1700s. Choose between a potato or cornmeal starter to make your bread and keep history alive with this recipe.

Prep Time15

Fermentation Time10

Total Time10 15

Course: Breads

Cuisine: Americana

Servings: servings

Calories: 33kcal

Author: Mary Bryant Shrader

Ingredients

Potato Starter

1 Idaho potato, sliced
2 tablespoons White cane sugar
1 heaping teaspoon Baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
3 tablespoons All-purpose flour
Boiling water

Cornmeal Starter

2 tablespoons Cornmeal germinated or degerminated
1/4 teaspoon Baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon All-purpose flour
1 cup Scalded whole milk

Sponge

Potato starter or cornmeal Starter
Warm water
All-purpose flour

Salt Rising Bread

Sponge
All-purpose flour

Instructions

Potato Starter

Add enough sliced potato to a quart-sized jar to fill the jar halfway.
To the jar, add the remaining potato starter ingredients and then pour the boiling water into the jar to fully cover the potatoes.
Cover the jar with plastic wrap and put a slit in the plastic wrap at the top.
Place the jar in a warm area that can maintain a temperature between 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit. An electric oven with the light on can work well.
Allow the starter to ferment. This will take between 8-12 hours. It will become bubbly and foamy. (See recipe video.)

Cornmeal Starter

Put all the dry cornmeal starter ingredients into a quart-sized jar and then pour in the scalded milk. Stir well.
Cover the jar with plastic wrap and put a slit in the plastic wrap at the top.
Place the jar in a warm area that can maintain a temperature between 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit. An electric oven with the light on can work well.
Allow the starter to ferment. This will take between 8-12 hours. It will become bubbly and foamy. (See recipe video.)

Sponge

To make the sponge, pour the starter of your choice into a large bowl and add 1 cup of water. Stir well.
To this bowl, add enough all-purpose flour to make a loose batter that's similar to a pancake batter.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a dish towel and return to a warm place between 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit.
Allow the sponge to ferment for approximately 2-3 hours. It should be bubbly and foamy in appearance. Do not allow it to over ferment and go flat, losing the bubbly and foamy appearance.

Salt Rising Bread

Grease two bread loaf pans with butter and set aside.
To make the Salt Rising Bread, add enough all-purpose flour to the sponge to create a wet shaggy dough.
Pour this dough out onto a well-floured board and begin to knead lightly, incorporating the flour until the dough is no longer sticky. This should take no more than a minute to do. Do not over knead the bread.
Use a knife of bench scrape to cut the dough in half. Shape each half into an oblong loaf. One at a time, place one loaf into a prepared loaf pan.
Return the loaves to the warm place between 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow the loaves to rise in their loaf pans until they reach the rim of the loaf pan. This can take between 1-3 hours.
Once risen, remove the loaves from the warm place (if they are in the electric oven) but keep the loaf pans warm by covering them with a dish towel.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. When the oven reaches the proper temperature, place the loaf pans on the middle rack of the oven.
Bread should bake for approximately 30 minutes. Once the tops are golden brown, the bread is ready.
Remove the loaf pans from the oven using oven mitts or pot holders and transfer to a cooling rack.
Allow the loaf pans to cool enough so that they can be handled comfortably. Remove each loaf of Salt Rising Bread from their respective loaf pans and place the bread onto a cooling rack.
Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.

Video

Notes

Salt Rising Bread makes wonderful toast.

Find this recipe and video at https://marysnest.com/salt-rising-bread/

Nutrition