Salt-Rising Bread
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus at least 12 hours’ rising
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:1 (9-inch) loaf
- ½cup/120 milliliters whole milk
- 1tablespoon fine cornmeal
- 4cups/510 grams all-purpose flour
- ⅛teaspoon baking soda
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the loaf tin
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)
1981 calories; 9 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 405 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 58 grams protein; 1510 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium just until the edges start to bubble. Let the milk cool for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, set the cornmeal and 1 teaspoon flour in a medium bowl. Once the milk has cooled, pour it over the cornmeal mixture, and whisk it well. Cover with plastic wrap, and keep warm — 104 to 110 degrees — for about 8 hours. You could use a water bath, a crockpot or an oven that has been turned off, but if the starter isn’t consistently kept warm, it won’t take. When the top of the starter is foamy and it smells a little like cheese, it’s ready for Step 2.
- Step 2
Using a wooden spoon, mix 1 cup/240 milliliters hot water with 1½ cups/190 grams flour and the baking soda, then add the starter to it, and mix well. Cover, and keep warm in the same way you did for Step 1, for 2 to 4 hours, until the dough is bubbly and has nearly doubled in size.
- Step 3
Scrape into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the beater attachment, with the speed on medium, add butter and salt, then add remaining flour in ½-cup increments — you may not need to add it all for the dough to come together. The dough should be smooth and a little soft and sticky after about 5 minutes of beating in the stand mixer on medium speed.
- Step 4
Transfer dough to a buttered 9-inch loaf tin, cover again and let it rest somewhere warm in the pan for 2 to 3 hours, until the top is slightly puffed and rounded.
- Step 5
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the dough is ready, uncover it and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top is deeply golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool completely in the pan before turning out and slicing.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Genevieve Bardwell
HI Baker Brad, Acutally, there are enough resident bacteria on the surfaces of the cornmeal and flour. I also suggest using a couple tablespoons chickpea flour to help the fermentation. Just a secret from a pro.
CFXK
There are two moments of potential failure that may necessitate restarting - the first at the end of step one and the second at the end of step two. The recipe on the King Arthur site describes what those failures look like and what you can do about them. It also is more specific and clearer about how to create a consistently warm space for the starter to ferment, and offers a few other helpful hints.
vaughan
Oh lordy I love salt rising bread, as it does make the most extraordinary toast. Used to be able to buy it in many Southern bakeries but alas, no more. Wish some enterprising bakery would take it up again and sell online as the taste really is worth the trouble. I'll give this recipe a try. Had also heard that potatoes could be used to culture a starter. thanks NYT
Sue B
You can make a starter with potatoes, corn meal, baking soda, a little flour and scalding water. You can order salt rising bread online from Rising Creek Bakery, where I learned to bake it
Hillary clovis
Rising creek bakery in mt morris, pa still sells and ships out salt rising bread weekly! Www.Risingcreekbakery.com
Karen
The first (and only) time I had salt rising bread was in 1971, when I was on a high school 4-H trip to Michigan. My host family took us to a country-style restaurant, and there we were served the most delicious bread I'd ever eaten. I've never forgotten the taste nor the name of the bread, but this is the first time I've seen a recipe for it. I look forward to trying it out.
Genevieve Bardwell
HI Paul, The sous vide is perfect! I set mine at 40C (105F). I also find that putting in a tablespoon or two of chick pea flour usually helps make a successful fermentation. Just a little secret from a pro.
Frank C
Rhodes Bakery in Atlanta sells the most delicious Salt Rising Bread and has since 1929...
Ann
My grandmother made what she termed Salt Rising Bread regularly - my grandfather’s favorite bread. She used warm milk from her own cows and sliced potatoes set on the back of her wood-burning stove overnight. Then the liquid was used the next morning in her regular bread making routine instead of yeast. Thanks for the memories.
Laura
Why is this called "salt-raised?" Is baking soda is considered a salt?
Sanyo12
An InstantPot electric pressure cooker set on "Yogurt" setting works extremely well. I select Yogurt > custom > 110°. I use a half gallon canning jar for step 1, making the starter. I use a metal mixing bowl covered with foil suspended over the IP (similar to a double boiler set-up) for step 2. A sous vide set-up also works well.
kgb
Harold McGee wrote a really great article about salt rising bread a few years back. The crazy thing is that the bacteria that’s doing the work is actually a clostridium - not yeast or lacto bacillus. You create an alkaline environment with the baking soda it’s nuts. The times I’ve made it, I used boiling water, flour, and sliced raw potatoes, and baking soda. I’ll be trying this recipe ASAP.
MC
My sense is that this recipe requires the bacteria from cow milk in order to ferment into a working starter.
Jerry
Salt-rising bread takes the August tomato-and-mayo sandwich to a new level. Following the King Arthur Flour recipe, I cheated with a 1/4 tsp. of yeast. It may not have been pure but it was sure good.
Jim S.
If you are able to get the salt-rising culture going, you can save out a portion and dry it in a baking pan. Once dried, put it in a small zip lock bag and then add some if the dried culture to your next batch. This will help to light off the culture the next time you make the bread. It still isn't guaranteed to work very time but I've had very few failures since I started adding a half teaspoon of the dried culture each time I start a new batch.
Nancy Kelly
I had a different recipe years ago where the starter was about double. You would take half the starter after you added more flour to make one loaf. This left you with starter to continue making bread. Y I u never used all thecstarter unless you wanted to stop making the wonderful bread. Does anyone know this old recipe as l would love to be able to make it again where you have starter left for the next time.
salt rising
The best theory I’ve seen so far for why it’s called salt rising is that the pioneer women would make their starter in the morning and pack it in rock salt to ferment during their day traveling west…
Joe
Has anyone tried with this Bread Flour? I have 25 pounds of KA Bread Flour and about 2 cups of AP flour in the pantry. In principle, it should give a better rise and oven spring.
Mark56
Salt rising bread is available for purchase in Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties along the Southern Tier of New York State at a few grocery stores, notably Giant Foods in Wellsville and Cuba. Also at Reid’s Food Barn in Olean. Also, Swatt Bakery in Olean. Delicious bread that is great for toast but also for a magnificent grilled cheese sandwich! Can’t wait to try this recipe out and bake some homemade salt rising bread!
Diane
If using a sous vide for the starter, can a Mason jar be used? With the lid?
Susan
Sodium bicarbonate is chemically classified as a salt.
Valerie Wells
I tried it twice, and failed the first time, and success the second. I used a heating pad to set the starter on, and it worked perfectly. After it's all said and done though, I didn't like the density of the bread as followed by the recipe. However, I discovered that with yeast added in, it is light and fluffy, and yummy. This will be my go to recipe for white bread but with yeast going forward.
Barbara K
Curious how much yeast you added?
Susan Brown
I’m happy to hear of any success that one has with making salt rising bread, so congratulations to you, Valerie, on making a successful batch of bread. I would like to make clear, however, that putting yeast in salt rising bread turns the end product into a bread that is very different from true salt rising bread. Many of the “ old timers” who have baked salt rising bread for years call it “cheating” when yeast is added to salt rising bread recipes. But, any bread is lighter with added yeast.
Barbara K
I’ve tried this recipe 2 times now with the same disappointing result. Steps 1-2 seem to be successful - bubbly, foamy starter and a bubbly, double in size mixture at the end of Step 2. I use my Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough beater for Step 3 and transfer to a bread pan. But then it doesn’t rise at all - even after 4 hours. I expect this loaf will have the same brick-like texture as the first try. Boo. Would appreciate any suggestions!
CV
Why doesn't the article explain why it's called "salt-rising" when the salt doesn't cause it to rise? Can anyone explain?
Susan
Sodium bicarbonate is chemically classified as a salt.
Rachel in Ottawa
1st encountered salt-rising bread when I moved to Virginia as a child. This comes close--subtly different taste, more close-textured, but the same delicious toast. I made the starter in a cup in my yogurt maker--perfect temp, tho it took a little longer than the recipe predicted. But when the action began it was unmistakeable. The dough was harder to keep warm: I nested the bowl in an inverted tea cozy; put it in an oven heated slightly too high; goosed the temp now&then. Good results.
Candace Gallagher
This did not turn out well at all. The batter DID rise well in the bowl, but once it was transferred to the loaf pan, it hardly rose at all, and came out like a brick. Also, the smell as it was rising was awful, although the flavor (yes I bit into the brick) was okay, but nothing spectacular. I won't try this again.
Genevieve Bardwell
HI Candace, Sorry to hear your first attempt didn't work. Can I ask how you kept the starter warm during the 8-10 hours? This is a crucial stage that requires a consistent temperature of 104F (40C). And yes, the smell is quite unpleasant at times. Since the loaves didn't rise, you have not experienced the fabulous flavor which happens with a good rise. Please email me, and I will gladly share with you a recipe that guarantees success. jbardwell@gmail.com
David
I really appreciate that you try to offer metric measurements. Would it be possible to extend this service to temperatures as well? 100° in my part of the world is likely to kill any bacteria, good or bad... (For others in the same fix: 104-110 ℉ is 38-43℃)
Genevieve Bardwell
Hi David, Thank you for pointing this out. The ideal temperature for the starter stage is 40C (105F).
David
And 350℉ is 175℃
Lora
Is it safe to leave the sous vide on over night for the first step? Trying to figure out how to make this bread in one day. What happens if it’s longer than 8 or 10 hours?
Genevieve Bardwell
Hi Lora, I leave my sous vide on overnight all the time with no problems. The timing on the sous vide can go for 18+ hours. Remember, what you are looking for in the fermentation of a successful starter is foam + smell. Sometimes, the smell is less, especially if your fermentation temperature is on the higher end, like 107-112F. Since these are wild microbes you are fermenting, the smell will vary.
PeterL
For steps 1 & 2, if your oven has various function-settings (bake, broil, convection, etc.), see if it has a Proof function (mine does!). If it does, select it and then set the temperature to either 105 or 110. Steady as a rock.
hedda
Why is it called salt rising bread? Do we ever get to find out?
Genevieve Bardwell
Hi Hedda, One theory is that baking soda is a type of salt, and many of the early recipes include table salt. Hundreds of years ago, an earlier fabrication of baking soda was called saleratus or salteritis. Could this be a play on words from salteritis to salt rising? A 2nd theory is that salt rising bread may have gotten its name from the fact that starters were once kept in a bed of heated salt to stay warm in order for fermentation to take place. More stories and recipes in our book!
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