Salt-Rising Bread

Ingredients

Starter

• 2 medium potatoes
• 4 cups boiling-hot water
• 1/4 cup stone-ground cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Sponge

• 1 1/2 cups warm milk (105-115 F)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 cups all-purpose flour

Bread Dough

• 7-8 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 6 tablespoons vegetable shortening (preferably trans-fat free)

Directions

1. 1

   Make starter:.

2. 2

   Peel potatoes and thinly slice. Put potatoes in a large bowl, then pour boiling-hot water over them. Stir in cornmeal, sugar, and salt until sugar and salt are dissolved. Set bowl into a larger bowl of hot tap water (about 130ºF) and let starter stand in a warm draft-free place (such as the inside of a turned-off gas oven), replacing hot water in larger bowl every 8 hours, for 24 hours. (Starter will be covered with a light, airy foam and have a pungent cheesy aroma.) Discard potatoes.

3. 3

   Make sponge:.

4. 4

   Add warm milk, baking soda, and flour to starter, whisking briskly until mixture is smooth. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set into a larger bowl of hot tap water (about 130ºF). Let sponge rise in a warm draft-free place (such as the inside of a turned-off gas oven) until doubled in bulk, about 3 hours. (Sponge will be covered in a thick layer of cappuccino-like foam.).

5. 5

   Make bread:.

6. 6

   Whisk together 4 cups flour and salt in a bowl. Blend in shortening with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) lumps.

7. 7

   Add mixture to sponge and beat with a wooden spoon until combined well. Stir in enough of remaining flour to form a soft dough (it will be sticky).

8. 8

   Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead, adding more flour as needed to keep from sticking, 2 minutes. Let dough stand 10 minutes, then knead on well-floured surface, flouring your hands as needed, until smoother (it will not feel as elastic as a traditional yeast dough), about 10 minutes more.

9. 9

   Divide dough into thirds and place each portion into a buttered loaf pan. Cover loaves loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until increased in bulk by one third (it will reach almost to rim of pan), about 3 hours.

10. 10

    Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F

11. 11

    Bake until golden brown, 45 to 50 minutes. Turn loaves out onto a rack and cool completely.