June, after years of trying I found a recipe that works for me. I'm at work right now, but I can post it this evening.

I love salt rising bread!

Nancy

I also grew up in one of the strongholds of the unique bread called salt rising. I haven't made any yet, but I intend to.

The link below will take you to an excellent salt rising bread site. Be sure to read the long article, SALT RISING BREAD - A Continuing Conundrum By Reinald S. Nielsen. It takes a bit of the mystery out of salt rising bread, which is notoriously tricky to make. You will find that salt rising is not a yeast bread. The leavening agent is bacteria, which explains a lot.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Salt Rising Bread Project

It's my favorite bread in the whole world. Publix used to have it occasionally years ago and I'd buy 4 loaves at a time and freeze it. I love SRB toast with V-8!

Here is the recipe that I finally got to work.

Salt-Rising Bread

Source of Recipe

southernfood.about.com

This makes the most incredible toast.

Recipe as written makes 4 loaves. I was successful with cutting it in half.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sifted cornmeal
4 cups milk
1 tablespoon sugar
14 to 16 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
melted butter to brush tops of loaves

PREPARATION:
Scald 1 cup milk. Add sifted corn meal and cook until thick. Place in a quart jar with top and place in warm place to sour overnight. (Starter can be stored in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks.) When bubbles form, it is ready to use. (I placed it in the oven with the light left on overnight, about 12 hrs)

In a saucepan, combine 4 cups of milk and 1 tablespoon sugar and heat to scalding. Cool slightly and add to the cornmeal mixture in a large mixing bowl. Gradually stir 6 cups of flour. Set in warm place to rise until double (approximately 2 hours). Next, add shortening, 1/2 cup sugar and salt. Mix well. Gradually add 6 cups of (warmed) flour and work in. Put a generous dusting of flour on board and turn dough mixture onto board. Work in more flour and knead for about 20 minutes. Divide into four equal parts and put in greased and floured 9 1/2 X 5 1/2 X 2 3/4-inch loaf pans. Brush tops of loaves with shortening and place in warm place to rise double (takes approximately 2 hours). Place in preheated 200° oven. Gradually turn heat up to 300°. Bake for 45 minutes. Take loaves out and brush tops with butter. Continue baking until done. Loaves will sound hollow when lightly tapped on bottom. Turn out on rack to cool. Total cooking will be approximately 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.

My Notes: I had success using Bob's Red Mill organic corn flour and the AP flour I used was King Arthur's Unbleached.
Somewhere I read that making sure you used corn meal with the germ was important, much of the corn meal today is degermed.
I warmed the flour before adding it in the last part by placing it in a pan on the stove after measuring it.
The cooked corn flour was very thick, I placed it in a qt. jar with lid, then in to the oven right away for the night. This develops the wild yeast and it is important to keep between 80° and 120°. .................................

I have a couple of other recipes, glad to share if you want them.
Nancy

Thank You so much Nancy. I do know a bit about it, such as it's not yeast based, how that evolved, etc, but of course, I have problems getting the starter going. I am trying it with potatoes at the moment, but I will try yours as well. I have heard you can use both germinated and ungerminated corn meal, so I am still not sure about that.
One web site quoted a gentleman back in the olden days stating, "Indeed it is, when at it's best as if a delicately reared, unsweetened plain cake had had an affair with a Pont l'Eveque cheese".
My starter is holding it's own. Water in a crockpot, , on medium, with 2/3 water, upside down lid with a cloth over it, then cotton potholders stacked, the starter is sitting on top of the potholders, lid sealed with plastic, with a probe in it, and I added a kitchen towel around the canning glass. It's been hold 105 degrees.
I may let it set overnight as I started it somewhat late in the day.
I may try your starter within the next few days (have the week off from work), so I will let you know how it goes and if I need to try any other of your recipes. But if you got it to work, that is what I am after!! Thank you so much!
June Lynn

Jim and all...thank you for your replies. I did go to the website earlier, but thanks for the link. I did read part of the long article. Clostridium perfingens and all! Very intersting.
WHAT with or WHEN do you like to eat S.R. Bread? I like it with eggs for breakfast.
Patti, V8 juice...hmmm...interesting combo!
Funny how we can 'hanker' for something from the past. I could care less about Hostess cupcakes or fair food, but give me salt-rising bread any day and I'll be in food heaven!
Strangly enough, here in the Piemont of N.C. (center of N.C.) no one has ever heard of it that have lived here all their lives. But bakeries in the N.C. mountains carry it. I take it that it was, and still is popular with apalachia and not other areas.
June Lynn

I LOVE SALT RISING BREAD, & miss it a lot. I've never made bread, but have made a resolution to try SRB this next month. My daughter & brother are rooting for me.

I have a whole file & some bookmarks, but thank you, Jim, for the SRBProject link, & thank you Nancy, for the recipe. More ammo to spur me on.

"WHAT with or WHEN do you like to eat S.R. Bread?"

I eat it toasted with butter for breakfast. That's it. There may be other good ways to eat it, or things to eat it with, but this is so good that anything else would be gilding the lily IMO. The aroma of toasting salt rising bread is comforting like no other and butter is the perfect accompaniment.

Jim

I had no luck with your starter Nancy, I'm sad to report. It just gelled all together very tightly and was cakey. I even got fresh ground germinated cornmeal that a farmer friend gave me. I've tried cornmeal a couple of different way with no fermentation at all. It stays warm, about 107 degrees. Would the oven light just be a bit cooler, maybe? I could try that.
I did have luck with sliced potato peels, a bit of sugar, soda and salt. I'm trying it again tonight, will check it tomorrow.
I did get 3 batches of bread out of the potato peel fermentation, but the bread was heavy. Almost like an English Muffin (I used fresh bread flour).
When I try it again, I may go ahead and add yeast. I hope it still has it's smell.
Just wanted to update you.

June Lynn