Mildred Tays' Salt Rising Bread

[Reinald]

Mildred Tays' Salt Rising Bread

Salt rising bread (SRB) is a delicious American (U.S.) food item the origin of which is unknown. Past misunderstandings have caused it to fall from grace -so to speak. There are many recipes published for SRB. Unfortunately, most of them are accompanied by misleading instructions.

The accompanying recipe from "The Mississippi Cookbook" (1972) is all but foolproof in the original and, with my modification, one must work to make it fail.

• sweet milk
  
• corn meal
  
• sweet milk
  
• sugar
  
• all-purpose flour
  
• shortening
  
• sugar
  
• salt
  
• shortening to brush tops of loaves
  
• oleo to brush tops of loaves
  
• sweet milk
  
• corn meal
  
• sweet milk
  
• sugar
  
• all-purpose flour
  
• shortening
  
• sugar
  
• salt
  

Scald 1 cup milk. Add corn meal and cook until thick. Place in a quart jar with top and place in warm place to sour overnight. When bubbles form, it is ready to use

Mix 1 quart of milk and 1 tablespoon sugar and scald. Cool slightly and add to first mixture. Gradually add six cups of the flour. Set in warm place to rise double (approximately 2 hours).

Next add shortening, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Mix well. Gradually add six cups flour and work in. Put remaning flour on board and turn dough mixture onto board. Work in more flour and knead for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Divide into four equal parts, make up loaves, and put in greased and floured loaf pans. Brush tops with shortening and place in warm place to rise double (about 2 hours).

Place in preheated 200 degree oven. Gradually turn heat to 300 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. Take loaves from oven and brush tops with oleo. Total cooking time is approximately 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Yields 4 loaves.

Loaves will be flat-topped if not concave.

"This recipe is over 150 years old. It was handed down by the families of Mrs. Gordon Smith and Mrs. Andrew A. Tays. Miss Mildred Tays, Booneville, Miss."

SRB is leavened by the bacterium Clostridium perfringens which functions best at temperatures near and slightly above 100F. A gas oven with pilot light can be the "warm place"

if the temperature holds above 80F although 100F will be better.

Rather than scalding the milk quantities, simply warm the initial cup to about 100F and add half of a wine-makers Campden tablet (potassium metabisulphite) which yields sulphur dioxide when hydrated. Sulphur dioxide is a more reliable yeast killer than scalding. No need to cook until thick nor for Campden in the quart of milk. Cover on the quart jar prevents entry of random yeasts, etc. Overnight, the starter will become gassy and may increase to double volume.

Use stainless steel bowls for convenience in heating the flour before incorporating with liquid ingredients. My version of gradual addition is dumping the flour into a bowl and hand-stirring in for the sponge. Final flour is dumped into bowl of a KitchenAid, with dough hook, together with the sponge.

Let the KitchenAid work the dough for 10 to 15 minutes. It climbs the hook and must be pushed back down, but that's less work than 20 minutes of hand kneading.

Finished product has the characteristic SRB odor, fine pores in the crumb, and a a nice crust. Some have described the bread as cake-like because the crumb is tender and somewhat sweeter than that from other recipes.

Keywords: Intermediate, Bread, American

( RG1479 )