Blog Entry

Better, and bread-er

This week, on Ward's inspiration, I went on a quest to find the elusive salt-rising bread. My first stop was to look on the internet for a re ci pe so Sarah and/or her mom (who is still around) could possibly cook it. Well ... according to the recipe, "THIS IS NOT AN EASY BREAD TO MAKE!" Having never tasted it, and not having anybody else around who had tasted it it, how was I to know if a homemade batch actually came out right? Self-production would not be an option.

So I checked around for bakeries who carried it. Nathan directed me to a place called Hogan's, which claimed on their website to carry salt-rising bread, but as we know not everything you read on the internet is true, and when I went to the bakery store I found that they didn't have any and hadn't in weeks.

Next place I tried was the Old Mill Bread Company off Cedar Bluff Road. I didn't have any internet-based indication that they carried salt-rising bread, but they are just across the street from Dunkin' Donuts where I happened to be already. And they are a bakery. A place where bread is produced. Unfortunately they did not carry salt-rising bread -- although many people ask for it, they haven't been able to get the recipe just right.

Unremitting, I did another internet search and found The Bakery Lady. She's based in Seymour, TN, which is a long drive for a loaf of bread. She only makes salt-rising bread once a month. But fortune was on my side! She delivers to stores in Knoxville, and she happened to be baking salt-rising bread on Tuesday and delivering to stores yesterday! I pursued the nearest of those stores molto con brio and got the very last available loaf of elusive salt-rising bread. My prize! My victory! My fresh-baked trophy, the reward for days of irrepresible valor and resolve was finally in my hands, wrapped in plastic, with a twist tie on the end.

After such buildup, I wanted to tuck in right on the spot, but with patience (born partly out of having a filling lunch and partly out of fear of a disappointing letdown) I waited until the evening after the kids in bread--er, bed--to indulge in my new sample of salt-rising deliciousness. As Sarah was getting Phoebe ready for bed, I popped 4 or 5 slices into the toaster and softened some butter in the microwave for a delicious (?) toasty bedtime snack.

How did it taste?

It was good. It had a distinctive smell to it, coming out of the toaster -- sort of like cheese? But the taste was not too strong, and not a lot different than other bread that I've had. Sarah also had some toast and agreed that it was pretty tasty. I had learned from my internet explorations that "salt-rising" refers more to the method of getting it to rise than the flavoring, but I was kind of expecting it to be saltier tasting.

So would I get it again? Definitely. Would I drive all up and down the East Tennessee countryside to acquire it? Mmm ... maybe. It was worth it for the sport of finding it, for asking so many people who said, "A lot of people ask about that, but we don't have it." And knowing that I had asked and ultimately received. Also all this typing about it has made me want another piece of toast. A craving? Say it ain't so!

Next stop on the quest for elusive breads: Melonpan!

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