“Long Winter” bread
Prep:
40 minutes
Rest:
2 hours
Bake:
45 minutes
Makes:
6 servings
Adapted from “The Little House Cookbook: Frontier Foods From Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Classic Stories,” by Barbara M. Walker.
1 cup sourdough starter, see note
2 1/2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 pound wheat berries
1 teaspoon bacon drippings
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1.
Place starter in a bowl; add flour and water. Mix; set aside in a warm place until bubbly, about 2 hours.
2.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grind wheat berries in a clean coffee grinder to get 3 1/2 cups flour. Grease a 9- or 10-inch pie pan with bacon drippings.
3.
In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of the starter mixture, salt, baking soda and 3 cups of the wheat berry flour. Knead the dough into a round loaf. Place in prepared pan. (Return remaining starter to fridge.)
4.
Score the loaf two or three times to make wedges. Cover; let rise, 30 minutes. Bake loaf for 45 minutes; cool before eating.
Note:
To make starter, mix 1 1/4 cups white flour with 1 cup warm (95 degrees) water in a 1-quart glass jar. Cover with lid or cheesecloth and let stand in a warm place until the batter rises. This may take days. Stir only if liquid rises to the top. The starter should smell sour and have a tacky texture.
