The Amish Cook Savoring Salt Rising Bread Food

AMISH SALT RISING BREAD RECIPE RECIPE

Steps:

• Sprinkle 1 tablespoon salt and the cornmeal over potatoes. Add boiling water and stir until salt has dissolved. Cover and keep warm from noon to the following morning. Drain off liquid into a large bowl. Add the baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and 5 cups flour to the liquid. Stir until ingredients are well blended. This sponge should be the consistency of cake batter. Set mixture in a warm place, and let rise until light and full of bubbles. This requires about 1 1/2 hours. Scald milk and cool to lukewarm. Add shortening. Add milk and remaining flour to sponge. Knead for 10 to 12 minutes and shape into loaves. Makes 3 medium-size loaves. Let rise until light - about 1 1/2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.

THE AMISH COOK: SAVORING SALT RISING BREAD

Steps:

• Scald milk and stir well with other ingredients. Place in large glass container. Place plastic wrap over top loosely, positioning thermometer in center. Cover loosely with towel. Place in larger water bath of 110 degree water. Place in Igloo cooler or box with bulb, proofer, or oven with pilot, or whatever you have experimented with- that yields desired temperature.
• In the morning, when the foam seems right and is still rising, add 6 cups water (or less, depending on how many loaves you wish to make) and enough flour to the consistency of thick pancake batter. Return to site of incubation for 1-2 hours. Cover loosely. (Before I knew better and closed it tightly, allowing pressure to build, I ended up with bomb-like projectiles that called for disaster clean-up!)
• When sponge has risen to about double, pour into large warm mixer bowl. Add 6 TBL salt and 1 ¼ gal hot water. Add about 10 pounds flour, kneading slowly with dough hook. I also add a dollop of veg oil and just a tad of sugar, even though some recipes omit those two ingredients. Continue to add several additional cups of flour, if necessary, to end up with dough on the wet side. Work out into loaves. Now it's crucial for the bread to rise in a warm environment. Like turn your oven on briefly, then off. Allow to rise until the loaves rise a half inch above the top of the bread pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 min, or till bottom is nicely browned.