salt rising bread problem
My salt rising bread does not have the characteristic odor that I recognize from past experience with salt rising bread. I am genuinely curious why this should be the case because I get excellent white bread loaves but no cheesy odor.
I follow a recipe from McGee (popular science article) approximately. I use a thermapen to monitor the temperatures. After many attempts I have a satisfactory apparatus for maintaining correct temperatures. The starter is made with properly scalded milk - 180 F. I have used two different kinds of cornmeal including one that brags of containing the kernel and the chaff. I have tried adding potato to the starter. I have used bread flour and all purpose flour. I get excellent white bread loaves but no cheesy smell like I used to experience from bakery bread made in Angelica, NY (Allegheny County in Southwest New York State). He baked on Friday and you could smell it all over the village - locals always remarked on it. (I live in St. Louis MO which may be relevant.)
My procedure: (1) scald the milk and pour over the cornmeal, salt, and sugar; (2) maintain the temperature of the starter between 102 F and 112 F which should cause C. Perfringens to flourish; (3) let the starter ferment overnight, about 12 hours, after which time it has a very thick crust of foam with tight bubbles and they do NOT smell cheesy; (4) add hot water at 120 F plus baking soda and stir in enough flour to make a thick smooth batter to create the sponge; (5) keep this mixture at 102 F to 112 F and in 3 to 4 hours this sponge is clearly fermenting with gusto exhibiting large foamy bubbles throughout; (6) make the dough by stirring in a teaspoon of salt and enough flour to make a proper dough; (7) knead the bread for 6 to 10 minutes, shape into loaves, and put in greased bread pans; (8) set the loaves to rise in a temperature of 92 F to 103 F and in 3 to 5 hours they have nearly doubled in bulk, then bake in a hot oven (I do 25 minutes at 375 F and 25 minutes at 325 F); (9) check the internal temperature of the bread which is about 205 F to 210 F; (10) turn the loaves out on a wire rack to cool. Done.
The finished loaves are pleasingly brown, give a hollow sound when thumped, and have a crumb which is (probably) too airy. The bread is delicious but does not smell cheesy. Why is this?
Am I caught in a peculiar geographic pocket with an odd strain of C. Perfringens like Clayton noted about his attempts to produce San Francisco sourdough from San Francisco starter which in a month or two deteriorated to the Bloomington Indiana variety?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is a true puzzle in my kitchen.
John Sprague (sprague@wustl.edu)
If the starter does not have the charastic odor of salt-riming bread. then discard the starter and restart!
I have always used boiling water in making my starter, not scalded milk. Here is my recipe for the starter.
Salt-Rising Starter2 medium sized potatoes (organic) sliced thinly
1 quart of boiling water
1/4 cup non-degerminated cornmeal (stone ground
2 Tbs. sugar
1 tspn. salt
Salt-rising bread is not a sourdough, but it does use a natural leavening. I have found this a very frustrating process as it does not always become active. One reason might be the use of refined cornmeal (germ removed), thus the specification for non-degerminated cornmeal. Another reason might be the treatment of the potatoes to prevent sprouting, thus the specification for organically grown potatoes. If the starter does not have the odor of a strong cheese, then it will not make the bread. Discard it and try again. The starter must be kept warm, about 100°F (38°C)
Place the potato slices in a large bowl and pour the boiling water over them add the other ingredients, stir, then cover. Let this sit in a warm, ~100°F (~38°C), place to ferment. The strong cheese aroma should develop in about 2 days. If the aroma does not developed, then discard it, it will not raise the dough.
Salt-Rising Bread, White TraditionalSponge (s. r. bread)All of the above Salt Rising Starter, ~36 oz. (~1000 g)
1 2/3 cups (14.7 oz., 416 g) scalded, tepid milk
1/4 tspn. baking soda
3 1/2 (14.9 oz., 422 g) cups unbleached, bread flour
1/2 tspn. (0.1 oz., 3 g) sugar
Scald milk (190°F, 88°C) then cool to 100°F (38°C). Pour the starter into a large mixing bowl. Stir in baking soda, milk, sugar, and unbleached flour, some lumps may remain. Cover with a plastic wrap and again set in a warm (~100°F, 38°C) place, and let the sponge rise. This may take as long as 4 hours, or as short as 1 hour. When ready, the sponge will have doubled in volume, will appear creamy, foamy, and still have the strong cheese odor. Remove about a 1/4 cup of starter and spread it out on a sheet of parchment paper to dry. When dry (about a day) break it up and store in a zippered bag for later use in a starter.
Dough (s. r. bread)all of the above sponge, ~64 oz. (~1900 g)
9 to 9 1/2 cups (38.3 to 40.4 oz., 1080 to 1145 g) unbleached bread flour
1 tspn. (0.2 oz., 6 g) sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. (1.0 oz., 28 g) salt
1/4 cup (2.0 oz., 57 g) melted and cooled butter
melted butter for greasing the pans and for brushing the dough
Put 4 cups of flour, 1 tspn. sugar, and 1 1/2 Tbs. salt into bowl containing the sponge, and blend. Stir in the melted butter. Then add enough flour (4 - 5 cups, or more) to make a soft, manageable dough that you can knead.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for a minute or two, adding flour as necessary. Let it rest for ten minutes. Resume the kneading until the dough is smooth, adding flour as necessary. (It will not be elastic.) Divide into three loaves (about 2 lb. 1 oz. each), and shape each piece to fit 5“ x 9” loaf pans. Place each into a greased loaf pan, brush with melted butter, and cover with plastic wrap. Set loaf pans in a warm place (100 to 110°F) to rise. This final rise takes about 2 to 4 hours, and the loaves should double the original volume. Let the loaves rise until just above the top of the pan, and do not slash the loaves.
Baking (s. r. bread)Preheat oven to 450°F (with a pan of boiling water on the bottom shelf) and the middle shelf reserved for the bread pans. When the dough has risen, spray the dough with water, and place immediately into the oven. After 15 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until the interior temperature of the loaves is 195° to 200°F. There will be little or no oven spring. They should sound hollow when thumped with a finger on the bottom, about 40 minutes. It is better to over-bake than to risk under-baking. Turn out on to a cooling rack, brush with butter, and cover with a damp cloth until cooled. Bread may then be packaged and frozen.
I have found that making salt-rising bread is most frustrating, but the result is most rewarding, when achieved. I hops this helps, Good Luck!
Ford
Susan Brown has a wev site in which she discusses Salt Rising bread. http://home.comcast.net/~petsonk/.
Jenny Bardwell & Susan R. Brown, eHow Presenters, made a video on methods for making salt rising bread. (http://www.ehow.com/video_2340947_salt-rising-bread-recipe.html).
Ford