Salt Rise Bread

 Meet the bane of my existence for the last year.....salt rise bread.  On my many trips into deep Appalachia, I stumbled across the only bakery left in the country that still makes salt rise bread.  I actually stopped there a few times before I bothered to buy a loaf.  As with almost everyone that has ever tasted this bread....once you try it, there's no going back.  I was determined to learn how to make it.

 I bought the book written by the women that were trying to keep this bread baking tradition alive.  Unlike most American recipes that were brought to our shores by immigrants, this bread was created in Appalachia by the pioneers.  This is an uniquely American food. And intimidating!

 Here's a bit of info for you.

 Before I get started on the bread, I will show you this thyme/honey butter I made to slather on salt rise toast.  Add 1/3 C. of your favorite honey to 1/2 C. of good softened butter.  Add 2 teaspoons of fresh minced thyme and a sprinkling of flaked sea salt. 

Stir this together thoroughly.

 Place it in your favorite butter crock and refrigerate until ready to use.  Remove it from the fridge before serving to slightly soften.

 Okay, back to the bread!  This is the trickiest bread to make.  You are basically creating your own yeast to make bread  rise.  I read so much about salt rising bread that it began to really intimidate me.  The bakery I mentioned above has 7 failures each year when making this bread.  Gulp!  The success of the rise depends in so many variables.  Keeping the starter (or raisin') at the proper temperature being the most important.  As you can see in the above pic, mine was a glorious success.  Everyone has their own secret starter (raisin') recipe.  I used warm water mixed with baking soda and cornmeal and thin slices of baking potatoes.  It takes about 12 hour for it to work and then you have a short period of time in which to make the bread and get the needed rise.

 A first hand story.

 Since this was my first attempt, I wasn't sure about a lot of things.  What was the dough supposed to look like?  This recipe gave me a dough that was like a very thick batter.  It had a few flaws but I was so excited to see how it turned out, I pushed ahead.

 The loaves smelled exactly like they should....stinky socks!  In Appalachia, kids call this bread "stinky socks bread".  The smell comes from the starter.  Children say that they can smell their mother baking this bread when they are walking home from school.  As with many foods, once you taste this bread, the pungent aroma becomes enticing.  Think of sauerkraut or kimchi!

 I think it smells like cheese.

 This bread keeps very well too.  Some people leave it on their kitchen counter for up to two weeks.  I don't know how it would ever last that long.

 It really got Willie's attention.  He loved the smell.  He got a little taste and he agrees...this is the best bread ever.

Fresh out of the oven, I think it would make killer sandwiches.  But I think the best use for this is toast.  It is a rather dense bread compared to other white breads.

More bread info.

I was thrilled with my first attempt and will be making and refining my recipe as I go.  I am so happy to be able to carry on this tradition.

I bought some of this bread at the bakery before my Memorial Day party at the beginning of summer.  No one at the party had ever heard of it or tried it.  I served it simply sliced, piled on plates with butter on the side; a rather unusual party food.  At the end of the party, people were leaving carrying handfuls of the bread so they could have it for toast in the morning.  Once you try it, there's no going back!

Oh, and did I mention how good the toast is?  Haha...the best toast ever!