Last weekend, the Old Man mentioned one of his favorite foods when he was a kid - salt rising bread. I remember him talking about it, and also remember Gram fixing some when I was a kid. I made a quick call and found out that a local bakery (that was actually the original first stop in my Wednesday Triple Crown run) had it. So I was only happy to stop there Wednesday morning and get him a loaf. He had a slice with supper Wednesday and he said it was as good as he remembered it.
I did a bit of research and found out salt-rising bread as we know it today was developed by colonists in North America — pioneer women who were isolated in the Appalachian Mountains with wheat but no access to yeast, and who needed to make bread for their families. They found that a mix of flour and milk left in a warm place would bubble up overnight, and the foamy mixture would help the bread rise.Though no yeast was used, some early recipes called for saleratus, a precursor to baking soda that was manufactured in the late 1700s and often used in biscuit and cake recipes. The oldest recipe for the bread Brown has found dates back to West Virginia in 1778.
Even at the height of its popularity, the method wasn't completely reliable. A rise without yeast is so finicky that it has been surrounded with its own superstition and mythology. Some bakers were told to never slam a door if a salt-rising starter was going on in the house, to not let children run around, or to not get in a fight with their husbands. If I had a dime for every time Gram told me not to run through the house when she had a cake in the oven, I'd be driving a 2023 Corvette. But I digress. Some were told it would work only if the milk used was still warm from the cow.
All I know is that it sure made the Old Man happy. That's all that matters.
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