Salt-Rising Bread

Name: Salt-Rising Bread
Yield: Yield: 2 loaves.
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 2 medium-size potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced; 2 tablespoons cornmeal; ½ tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 cups boiling water; 2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm; ⅛ teaspoon baking soda; 8 cups sifted flour, approximately; 2 tablespoons shortening or butter, at room temperature

Preparation info

Yield:
2
loaves.

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Craig Claiborne's Southern Cooking

By Craig Claiborne

Published 1987

About

Salt-rising bread is one of the greatest inventions, which I think of as peculiarly Southern. It smells and tastes a little bit “cheesy” and is not to everyone’s liking, but it makes excellent sandwiches and toast. Because of the timing and temperature, it takes a little practice to make a perfect loaf.

Ingredients

2 medium-size potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons cornmeal
½ tablespoon

Americas
United States
Vegetarian
Bread

Method

Place the potatoes, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in a 3-quart bowl. Add the boiling water and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Cover with plastic wrap or foil. Set the bowl in a pan of warm water over the pilot light of a stove, or where it will stay at about 120 degrees, until small bubbles show in the surface, 24 hours or longer.
Remove the potatoes