Salt rising bread
Encyclopedia
Salt rising bread is bread in which the main rising agent is a bacterium Clostridium perfringens
, which leavens the bread along with lactobacillus and other wild microbes, as opposed to mainly yeast
or baking soda. It is thought that the salt used in the starter is used to suppress yeast growth and provide an environment more conducive to the C. perfringens bacterium, allowing the flavors from the bacterial metabolic products to predominate over the more typical yeast and lactobacillus flavors; in situations where reduced salt might be necessary, similar yeast suppression results can be achieved by adding a Campden tablet to the starter mixture. Another assumption regarding the name is chunks of rock salt were heated and used to provide a warm, stable temperature in which to incubate a "starter" overnight for the C. perfringens to grow.
Salt rising bread is made from wheat flour, with a starter consisting of a liquid (water or milk), either corn, potatoes, or wheat, and some other minor ingredients. The starter distinguishes itself from a sourdough
starter by working best with an incubation period of 6–16 hours at temperatures ranging from 38-45°C (98-113°F); a sourdough starter will usually work best at or below room temperature. The resulting bread is of a dense crumb and favorable cheese-like flavor. The exact origin of this bread is unknown, but evidence suggests that it was well known throughout Scotland and Ireland during the mid- to late-17th century. Currently, the tradition is kept alive by relatively few individuals and bakeries that tend to be clustered in the mid to eastern United States. It is particularly popular in Western New York
.
Clostridium perfringens
Clostridium perfringens is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped, anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium of the genus Clostridium. C. perfringens is ever present in nature and can be found as a normal component of decaying vegetation, marine sediment, the intestinal tract of humans and other vertebrates,...
, which leavens the bread along with lactobacillus and other wild microbes, as opposed to mainly yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
or baking soda. It is thought that the salt used in the starter is used to suppress yeast growth and provide an environment more conducive to the C. perfringens bacterium, allowing the flavors from the bacterial metabolic products to predominate over the more typical yeast and lactobacillus flavors; in situations where reduced salt might be necessary, similar yeast suppression results can be achieved by adding a Campden tablet to the starter mixture. Another assumption regarding the name is chunks of rock salt were heated and used to provide a warm, stable temperature in which to incubate a "starter" overnight for the C. perfringens to grow.
Salt rising bread is made from wheat flour, with a starter consisting of a liquid (water or milk), either corn, potatoes, or wheat, and some other minor ingredients. The starter distinguishes itself from a sourdough
Sourdough
Sourdough is a dough containing a Lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. It is one of two principal means of biological leavening in bread baking, along with the use of cultivated forms of yeast . It is of particular importance in baking rye-based breads, where yeast...
starter by working best with an incubation period of 6–16 hours at temperatures ranging from 38-45°C (98-113°F); a sourdough starter will usually work best at or below room temperature. The resulting bread is of a dense crumb and favorable cheese-like flavor. The exact origin of this bread is unknown, but evidence suggests that it was well known throughout Scotland and Ireland during the mid- to late-17th century. Currently, the tradition is kept alive by relatively few individuals and bakeries that tend to be clustered in the mid to eastern United States. It is particularly popular in Western New York
Western New York
Western New York is the westernmost region of the state of New York. It includes the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls, the surrounding suburbs, as well as the outlying rural areas of the Great Lakes lowlands, the Genesee Valley, and the Southern Tier. Some historians, scholars and others...
.