Craig Claiborne's Salt Rising Bread

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1

Craig Claiborne’s Salt Rising Bread

Makes 2 loaves.

"Salt-rising bread best known below Mason-Dixon line.

Salt-rising bread is another of those regional American dishes for which some people have a passion and which inspire in others
something short of aversion.

The bread is made by a natural fermentation, and for a period it is a bit malodorous. The finished product is a bit tangy with a flavor which is at times described as ‘cheese-like’.

Because of the timing and temperature, it takes a little practice to make a perfect loaf.

For the ambitious and nostalgically inclined, here is a recipe for it."

Ingredients

2 medium-size potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons corn meal
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups boiling water
2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
8 cups sifted all-purpose flour, approximately
1/4 cup soft shortening or butter, at room temperature

Instructions

  1. Place the potatoes, corn meal, sugar, and salt in a three-quart bowl.
    Add the boiling water and stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
    Cover with transparent 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 F, until small bubbles show in the surface, for 24 hours or longer.

  2. Remove the potatoes to a sieve and press out excess moisture.
    Add this liquid to the potato water still in the bowl. Discard the potatoes.

  3. Add the milk, baking soda, and four cups of the flour to the bowl. Stir until smooth.
    Set the bowl again in the pan of warm water and let it stand for about two hours,
    until the dough is almost doubled in bulk.

  4. Chop the shortening or butter into one cup of the remaining flour.
    Add this to the dough. Add enough additional flour, about three cups, to make a moderately stiff dough.
    Knead on a floured surface quickly and lightly.
    Do not let dough get cold.

  5. Return the dough to the bowl, grease the surface of the dough, and let it rise for about two hours, until doubled in bulk.

  6. Turn the risen dough out on a lightly floured surface and shape into two loaves.
    Place in greased loaf pans ( 9 by 5 by 3 inches) and grease the tops of the loaves.
    Let rise again for about two hours, until almost doubled in bulk, or slightly above the tops of the pans.
    Sprinkle the tops with corn meal if desired.

  7. About 15 minutes before the loaves have finished rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

  8. Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F,
    and bake for about 35 minutes longer, or until the bread shrinks from the sides of the pans and is well browned.
    Cool on a rack.

Yield: Two loaves.

Source: Craig Claiborne newspaper food column, Dec 18, 1975

2

Here’s how to keep the salt-rising bread dough warm during rising.

My crockpot will run on its timer for up to 20 hours. Its internal cooking temperature is around 200-F.

Ok here are the results of my experiment to use a crockpot to keep a bowl of bread dough warm for rising.

The room temperature of my kitchen was 75 degrees F.

I set up my 6-qt oval crockpot as follows. I added 2 inches of 80 degree water to it and placed the lid on it, inverted. I set the crockpot to cook 4 hours on LOW.

Since the glass lid of the crockpot is dome shaped, when inverted, this left a hollow in which to nest a towel and bowl to warm dough in.

I folded a kitchen towel several times until it was about 1-inch thick and placed it on the inverted crockpot lid.

I took a 4-quart stainless steel mixing bowl and filled it with 2-inches of 80 degree F water. I placed the bowl on top of the towel on the crockpot set to LOW. I covered the 4-qt mixing bowl with a metal pie pan.

After 1-hour the water in the bowl was 85-degrees F. After 2-hours the water in the bowl was 90-degrees F. The room temperature was still 75 degrees F.

So it appears you can use a crockpot to keep a bowl of dough warm for rising. Next I will have to experiment with real active bread dough or maybe sourdough starter.

You could also probably use this setup to incubate yogurt.

With a thinner towel or using less folds, and maybe running the crockpot on HIGH you could achieve higher temperatures if desired.