Salt-rising bread

Salt-rising bread

Alternative names	Salt-risen bread
Type	Bread
Region or state	Appalachian Mountains
Main ingredients	Wheat flour, starter (water or milk); corn, potatoes, or wheat), bacteria (Clostridium perfringens)
Cookbook: Salt-rising bread Media: Salt-rising bread

Salt-rising (or salt-risen) bread is a dense white bread that was widely made by early settlers in the Appalachian Mountains in a process that involves no yeast. Instead, the leavening agents are wild organisms ubiquitous in nature. Salt in the name is a misnomer, since the salt levels are relatively low, around 20 mg per slice. It is thought that the salt used in the starter is used to suppress yeast growth and provide an environment more conducive for the microbes to grow, enhancing the distinct flavors which predominate over the more typical yeast flavors. Another assumption regarding the name is that chunks of rock salt were heated and used to provide a warm, stable temperature in which to incubate a "starter" overnight. Salt-rising bread is made from wheat flour, with a starter consisting of a liquid (water or milk), either corn, potatoes, or wheat, and some other minor ingredients. The starter distinguishes itself from a sourdough starter by working best with an incubation period of 6–16 hours at temperatures ranging from 38–45 °C (100–113 °F); a sourdough starter will usually work best at or below room temperature. The resulting bread is of a dense crumb and favorable cheese-like flavor.

Salt-rising bread has a very recognizable and pungent odor which some people find very pleasant and others consider very unpleasant. Regardless of preference, the odor tends to diminish when the bread is toasted. One typical way of serving this bread is as toast.

The exact origin of this bread is unknown, but evidence suggests that it was the pioneer women in early American states who discovered how to make bread without yeast. Commercial yeast was not available until the 1860s. Currently, the tradition of making salt-rising bread is kept alive by relatively few individuals and bakeries that tend to be clustered in the central to eastern United States. It is particularly popular in Kentucky, West Virginia, Western New York, and Western Pennsylvania.

One of the main rising agents in salt-rising bread is a bacterium Clostridium perfringens, along with lactobacillus and other wild microbes, as opposed to mainly yeast or baking soda or baking powder. There is no indication of salt-rising bread having ever caused any human disease.^[1]

References

↑ Juckett, G; Bardwell, G; McClane, B; Brown, S (2008). "Microbiology of salt rising bread". The West Virginia medical journal 104 (4): 26–7. PMID 18646681.

External links

Brown, Susan Ray "The Salt Rising Bread Project "http://www.saltrisingbread.net/
Greenwood, Darrell (August 3, 2010). "What is Salt Rising Bread?".

Bread

List of breads

Types	Brown bread White bread Whole wheat Flatbread Multigrain bread Quick Rye bread Salt-rising Sandwich bread Soda bread Sourdough Texas toast Unleavened

Ingredients	Baker's yeast Barm Calcium propanoate Eggs Fat Flour Flour treatment agent Leavening agent Milk Salt Sugar Water

Equipment	Oven Bread machine Bread pan Dough scraper Farinograph Lame Peel Stand mixer Weighing scales

Processes	Autolysis Baking Biga Chorleywood bread process Kneading Leavening Maillard reaction No-knead bread Proofing Pre-ferment Pre-slicing Sponge and dough Steaming Straight dough Vienna process

Uses	Bread crumbs Bread bowl Bread pudding Croutons French toast Stuffing Sandwiches Toast

Other	Breadmaking Baker percentage History of bread

List articles	American breads Brand name breads Bread dishes British breads Indian breads Pakistani breads Quick breads Sweet breads

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