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A Vanishing Appalachian Bread Tradition (Salt Rising Bread)
- Thread starter melissa-dallas
- Start date
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
I adore salt-rising bread!
I grew up eating it. The taste is amazing. We could buy it commercially in the grocery stores from the local Cincinnati Bakeries up into the 80's and then it started disappearing. No idea why because it was so unbelievably good compared to the white cotton candy bread they sell now.
I've made it a couple times and it is definitely a labor of love. The starter is very tricky and if you don't maintain the right temperature it just turns into rotting slop.
When I've gotten it to work I use a crockpot on low filled with water, a ceramic bowl sitting on top, and then wrapped in layers of towels for insulation with a thermometer sticking out. By turning the crockpot off and on I could keep the temperature at the right place for the fermentation. But for every time I attempt it, I've had dismal failures as well.
I grew up eating it. The taste is amazing. We could buy it commercially in the grocery stores from the local Cincinnati Bakeries up into the 80's and then it started disappearing. No idea why because it was so unbelievably good compared to the white cotton candy bread they sell now.
I've made it a couple times and it is definitely a labor of love. The starter is very tricky and if you don't maintain the right temperature it just turns into rotting slop.
When I've gotten it to work I use a crockpot on low filled with water, a ceramic bowl sitting on top, and then wrapped in layers of towels for insulation with a thermometer sticking out. By turning the crockpot off and on I could keep the temperature at the right place for the fermentation. But for every time I attempt it, I've had dismal failures as well.
melissa-dallas
Well-known member
Could a sous vide cooker be set to maintain the right temperature?
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
I don't know...
I've never used one so I don't know how low the temp goes. The salt-rising starter recipe I use from Joy of Cooking has a temp of 100F for 12 hours or so. Link is previous discussion with SteveLA when he was wanting to make it.
http://eat.at/swap/forum1/180381_The_crockpot_is_your_friend
I've never used one so I don't know how low the temp goes. The salt-rising starter recipe I use from Joy of Cooking has a temp of 100F for 12 hours or so. Link is previous discussion with SteveLA when he was wanting to make it.
http://eat.at/swap/forum1/180381_The_crockpot_is_your_friend
melissa-dallas
Well-known member
Looks like Anova's has a range of 77F to 210F
I'm leaning toward getting one now for research since you don't HAVE to have a vacuum sealer as
well. I'll play around with tools under $100, but a good sealer was also going to run another $150 at least. Then I saw where they just put the item in ziplock bag, fold over a few times and clamped that with a clip. Then they suspend that from the pot's edge with another clip.
We used to kayak and I had a waterproof bag designed just like that. Trust me, that sucker worked more times than I care to admit in public.
well. I'll play around with tools under $100, but a good sealer was also going to run another $150 at least. Then I saw where they just put the item in ziplock bag, fold over a few times and clamped that with a clip. Then they suspend that from the pot's edge with another clip.
We used to kayak and I had a waterproof bag designed just like that. Trust me, that sucker worked more times than I care to admit in public.
Yes, the clip on is how our chefs have done ours here (but now have a real
sealer).
I paid $65 for my sousvide circulator. And vac sealers do not have to be that expensive. I have my 3rd (in about30 years) and have had the original, then one with lots of bells and whistles, and am now back to plain pipe rack which does the job just fine. SO, I REAlLY recommend a vac sealer for lots more than sous vide, and I think you can get one for $50 if you shop.
;o)
sealer).
I paid $65 for my sousvide circulator. And vac sealers do not have to be that expensive. I have my 3rd (in about30 years) and have had the original, then one with lots of bells and whistles, and am now back to plain pipe rack which does the job just fine. SO, I REAlLY recommend a vac sealer for lots more than sous vide, and I think you can get one for $50 if you shop.
;o)
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
I did, the temp is too high. It's around 115F.
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
My amazing breakthrough was the temps were too high.
Hit 95F outside? It worked. The pioneers making this bread didn't have all these gadgets. Hot steamy outside? Put the starter outside.
Hit 95F outside? It worked. The pioneers making this bread didn't have all these gadgets. Hot steamy outside? Put the starter outside.