Salt-rising bread was popular in the 1800s, before yeast was readily available. It relies on a fermented mixture of warm milk or water, flour, corn meal, sugar and salt to give it rising power.
Salt-rising bread has a very smooth, dense texture with a tangy flavor and strong cheese-like aroma. It makes great toast!
When I was a child growing up in the Los Angeles area, salt-rising bread was sold from the Helms Bakery trucks that frequented most every neighborhood daily.
Later, salt-rising bread was baked by Van de Kamp’s bakeries—owned by the same man who started the company that sells Van de Kamp’s frozen seafood, Theodore J. Van de Kamp.
Van de Kamp was the brother-in-law of Lawrence L. Frank, the founder of the Lawry’s The Prime Rib restaurant chain and creator of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Now you know.
Very few bakeries make salt-rising bread today, but you can bake this pioneer-style bread at home with little effort.
For an interesting history of this heirloom bread and additional recipes, go to this website:
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
Boiling water or hot milk
1 pint warm water
Flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3/4 cup shortening
PREPARATION
Mix the corn meal, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in a one-cup measuring cup. Add enough boiling water or milk to measure 1 cup, mixing well. Let stand overnight in a warm place.
The next morning, add the mixture to a pint of warm water and stir in enough flour to make a stiff batter.
Place bowl in warm water until batter rises and doubles in quantity. Then combine the batter with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and shortening. Add enough flour to make a smooth dough. Knead well.
Form into loaves and let rise until doubled, several hours. Bake in a 400° oven about 45 minutes.
Baps are easy-to-make, delightfully versatile, soft, flat-topped yeast rolls. They originated in Scotland, but can be found throughout the United Kingdom. Baps can be traced back to the sixteenth century.
Baps are also known as Scottish Yeast Rolls, Scottish Morning Rolls, or Floury Baps; the latter name refers to the traditional dusting of flour on the tops. Baps are usually round, but sometimes they’re oval or triangular; an Aberdeen bap is square.
Baps are best served warm, fresh from the oven. However, you can reheat baps one at a time in a microwave (about 20 seconds) to restore freshness. Or, split one open and toast it. Then, apply a generous pat of butter and a dollop of jam, marmalade, or lemon curd.
Baps can be served in place of English muffins, crumpets, or scones.
Baps are great filled with bacon and a fried egg; used as a hamburger bun; and, one of my favorites, to enclose a sandwich of sliced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and mayonnaise.
INGREDIENTS
1 package active dry yeast
2/3 cup whole milk
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for finishing
PREPARATION
Combine the milk and water. Heat it to lukewarm (half a minute or so in the microwave). Dissolve the yeast in the milk-water mixture.
In a large bowl, mix the salt with the flour. Pour the milk mixture into the dry mixture and stir to make a soft dough. If the dough is too stiff, add a little more milk.
Turn out the dough onto a floured breadboard and knead lightly for about 5 minutes.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning it over so that all of the dough has a light coating of oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled—about 2 hours.
Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and dust it lightly with flour.
Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 portions. Form the portions into rounds or ovals. Set them on the baking sheet, leaving at least two inches between each.
Cover with plastic wrap touching the dough to prevent a skin from forming. Let sit for 1/2 hour to rise again.
Preheat the oven to 425°.
Brush the tops and sides of the baps with milk, then sprinkle lightly with flour.
An easy way to do so is to put a tablespoon of flour in a wire strainer, and, holding it a few inches above a bap, tapping the strainer gently. An even easier way: Keep some flour in a spice jar with a sifter fitment.
With a floury finger, make a deep impression in the center of the baps just before placing them in the oven, to prevent them from rising to a dome.
Bake on the center shelf of the oven for about 17 minutes, or until they’re puffed and golden.
By now you should know that I like to make most everything from scratch. I blend my own seasoned salt, seasoned pepper, chili powder, and other spice mixes. I grind mustard seeds to make deli-style mustard, and grate horseradish roots to make tangy horseradish sauces.
I’ll turn a $20.00 beef brisket into $100.00 worth of incredibly delicious pastrami; a modestly-priced salmon fillet into expensive lox or gravlax; and two pounds of ground beef into four salami chubs.
And, there isn’t a bagel sold in the state of Washington that can compare with those boiled and baked in my kitchen.
There are three reasons why I prefer to make food from scratch: to enjoy the flavor and texture of homemade comestibles; to know that I’m feeding my family food that contains only fresh, wholesome ingredients and not a litany of chemicals; and, to save money.
There are exceptions, of course. I know that I can’t make four-bean salad that tastes any better or is as inexpensive as the Paisley Farm brand sold at Costco and Sam’s Club.
And, unless you’ve been making tortillas ever since you were a child, it’s far better to buy them from the store. (My homemade tortillas were always a disaster—lumpy and torn. I disposed of my tortilladora a long time ago.)
Hamburger buns are readily available at any grocery. They don’t cost a lot of money, either. But, homemade buns are easy to make and much tastier than anything you can buy off the shelf.
These buns have a yeasty, mouthwatering aroma. They’re soft and tender on the inside with a slightly chewy crust. Once you’ve baked a batch of these buns, you’ll want to double the recipe and keep a bag of them in your freezer for hamburgers, tuna salad sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, etc.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup canola oil (plus 2 tablespoons to oil bowl)
1 large egg (plus 1 egg for egg wash)
1 cup hot tap water (120°–130°)
Sesame seeds
PREPARATION
In an electric mixer bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the 1/2 cup oil.
With mixer at low speed, gradually pour in 1 cup of hot water.
Add the egg. Increase the beater speed to medium. Beat 2 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally with a spatula.
Add the rest of the flour, 1/4 cup at a time. Continue beating 2 more minutes, occasionally scraping the bowl.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured breadboard and knead until it’s smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a large oiled bowl, turning the ball over so that the top of the dough is oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place (80°–85°) until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. (If your oven has a proofing setting, use it.)
Deflate the dough by punching down the center, then folding the edges of dough into the center. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured breadboard.
Knead lightly to make a smooth ball. Cover with the bowl (upside-down) and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
Divide the dough into eight equal portions. Knead each portion individually into a “hockey puck” shape, about 1/2 inch thick by 3-1/2 inches in diameter.
Place the shaped buns three inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover them with plastic wrap or a clean towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Brush buns with egg wash (1 egg mixed with an equal amount of water). Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 15 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
