Winter and Salt Rising Bread

Winter seems to be back with a vengeance.  I guess it was due considering the past winters that made us forget what a hard long winter is really like.  From the weather predictions (if they are correct) we are in for a cold snowy March and into April.  I had hoped all winter it meant we would have an early spring and when it arrived it would be here to stay.  I'm not giving up on that thought considering the meteorologists have been wrong quite a bit.

Today is bread day, the slices from last week disappeared at breakfast yesterday.  Dick likes  cocoa and toast with salt rising bread or homemade white bread.  Years ago when my oldest grandson was about 12 he had 2 friends come  stay with him.  The boys came over one of the mornings with that "what's for breakfast look".  Love it, nothing makes me happier than to see hungry kids coming to gramma's (always been gramma not grandma) house.  Desperate on what I had enough of for 3 close to be teens it was an ah ha, cocoa and toast.  That was the first time Kirk's friends had ate cocoa and toast,  interesting.  Is it something just our family eats?  We dip the buttery toast in the cocoa for only a quick few seconds, we don't want the toast to get soggy and break off in the cup.  Two loaves of bread later the visitors decided they really liked cocoa and toast or maybe those marshmallows all puffy and gooey on top was the deciding factor.    I wonder did they ever "Pass it On"

Salt Rising Bread  is really a recipe I have to be in the mood to start because it takes 24+ hours.  At least the recipe I use. Thanks to the Giant in Wellsville, NY,  our #1 buy for Salt Rising Bread we always have a couple loaves in the freezer. BTW do you know that putting a napkin or folded paper towel in a loaf of bread will keep it from forming ice crystals if freezing it?  It does, I promise.  The Giant also makes the  best raspberry filled donuts. It takes every ounce of will power to walk by!  If I can't resist, then it's "2 to go" for the ride back home.  A JMC on the side and I'm HAPPY!   I did it again, side tracked, back to the recipe I go!  The cornmeal I use is coarse ground  without preservatives.  The preservatives kill the action of the fermentation that makes the bread rise.  Also the recipe calls for raw milk.  I have used both fresh from the cow(raw) and from the store.  Lucky for me it still worked with the store milk.  Just make sure you use whole milk, it needs the richness.

The start of 24 hour Salt Rising Bread: Scald 1-cup of whole milk, pour over 1-sliced unpeeled potato about the size of your fist and 1/2-cup of coarse ground corn meal.  Cover and let stand in a warm place for 24 hours.

This is what it looks like after 24 hrs and sliced potatoes are removed.

After 24 hours heat 3 -cups of milk to luke warm put in a large bowl with 1 TBSP of white sugar, 3/4 tsp salt and 5 TBSP of shortening(Crisco or lard).  Stir in 3-cups of all purpose flour, remove the potato from the milk/cornmeal mixture and add too the flour mixture.  Put in a warm pan of water for 2 hours or until bubbles start to come up from the bottom.

This is after the 3 cups of milk mixture and 3 cups of flour have been mixed with the milk/cornmeal mixture and before it has raised.

This is what it looks like after 2 hrs.  You can see the bubbles can not be stirred down.  That is the fermentation working and what the batter should do.  Next you had enough flour to knead.  

            Stir in enough flour to knead on a floured board for about 5-10 minutes.

I want you to see how the bread is when putting on the floured board, very sticky.  Just keep kneading in a little flour at a time.  It is a soft dough and feels like a big marshmallow when kneading.   As much as I dislike my picture taken I did it for you♡


Divide dough, put in well greased bread pans and set in warm place to raise.  Bake at 400 until golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap on the top of the loaf.  Caution this does stink when raising but not when baking, remember the smell of good Salt Rising Bread :)  The first time I made  Salt Rising Bread was in the mid 70's requested by my brother Bob.  I made it, baked it and threw it out!  When Bob called that afternoon and I told him I threw it out because it stunk so bad I thought he was going to come through the phone at me! He had waited 24 hours for the bread.  How was I to know if it smells it's good?  Now at his daughter's request  I am doing this post for Pam (my niece/best friend) and in memory of Bob, the man that kept this family together after our parents died.   He was an amazing, funny, tough and could make me mad in a blink and then laugh because he loved picking!   He was a great cook ....even oxtail soup.  Bob and Bev meant so much to all of us and filled many voids in my life and my kids.

All done and a taste test.  I wouldn't "Pass it On" if it wasn't good.