Looking for something called Clabber bread?? (Miss Prissy WHOO YOO!)

[HennysMom]

Okay.. my neighbor asked me yesterday if I had a recipe for something called Clabber bread (not sure if I'm spelling it right or not) but its a very old recipe that his grandmother used to make (so we're talking 1800's here given his mom is 93).

I've searched the internet but I'm coming up with nothing. He said it was made by letting milk ferment..then skimming off the whatever fermented and using that..

Gosh.. where is Miss Prissy when we need her?

 

[peeplessinNC]

Could this be a recipe for buttermilk bread? The term "clabber" is maybe a term for letting milk go sour?

Hold it....just found a reference to a recipe in one of Bernard Clayton's books. It's referring to formage blanc or a type of French cheese. You use rennet (Junket) found in the grocery store to make the cheese......or.....you can use whipped cottage cheese as a substitute.

Later tonight I will check my books by B.Clayton and see if it is in one of them.

 

[HennysMom]

Yes, I'm gathering its nearly the same thing.... from what I'm reading.....

I did manage to find one recipe in a French cook book but I'm not sure if thats it or not. Takes 2 DAYS to make this bread

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

I thought clabbered milk was buttermilk? I'd think this was buttermilk bread.

Try reading this.

 

[HennysMom]

Quote:
Thanks adopted

I saw that after searching for a recipe - I dont know if what I gave them is the same recipe their grandmother made, but, its the best I could find.

 

[Big Chicken Little]

Go here ...http://bread-water-salt-oil.blogspot.com/2006/06/first-clabber-your-bonny.html

 

[peeplessinNC]

Here is the recipe from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads:

Gannat Clabber Bread

Clabber:
2 qts whole milk, room temperature
1/4 rennet tablet
or
1 lb. large-curd cottage cheese

Dough:
8 cups bread or all-purpose flour, approx.
1 package dry yeast
1 TB salt
10 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, room temp, cut into chunks

Glaze:
1 egg, beaten with 1 TB milk

3 round cake pans with 1" sides or a baking sheet, greased or covered with parchment paper

3 ft. length of cheesecloth to drain the clabber

To make the clabber, the day before, warm the milk to 70 degrees F and pour into a medium crock. Crush 1/4 rennet tablet, dissolve in a spoonful of milk, and stir into the crock of milk. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at least 12 hours at room temp. When the milk has curdled, pour the curds into the cheesecloth and suspend over a bowl to drain.

Empty the clabber into a bowl and keep chilled until ready to proceed with the bread recipe. Bottle the whey and chill it for use in other breads.

Or - substitute 1 lb. large curd cottage cheese creamed in a blender or food processor or mashed and whipped with a fork in a bowl for 10 minutes.

To make the dough, in a large mixing bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Form a well in the bottom of the bowl and break in the eggs, one at a time. Stir with a wooden spoon until the eggs are worked into the flour. Pour in 2 cups clabber and stir well. Drop the soft butter or margarine into the bowl.

Add flour, 1 cup at a time, blending in the pieces of butter first with the spoon and then with your hands. Dough will be smooth and easy to work with because of the clabber and butter.

Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead with a forceful motion of push-turn-fold. Now and then, crash the dough down against the work surface to vary the kneading.

Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic. Leave for at least 1 1/2 hours, preferably longer, until double in bulk.

Punch down the dough and divide into 3 pieces (if you have made a full recipe). Press into balls and let relax for 5 minutes.

If you are using pans, place the dough in the center of each pan and with the palms of your hands and fingers press the dough flat and out to the sides of the pans. It may pull back; if it does, let it rest a few minutes and repeat.

If you're using a baking sheet, round the pieces of dough between cupped hands, place on sheet, and flatten dough to half its rounded height.

Cover the pans or sheet with wax paper and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F 20 minutes before baking.

Brush the loaves with the egg glaze and place in the oven. Bake for 35 minutes at 400. Watch the loaves. If they brown too fast, cover with foil or brown sack paper the last 15 minutes of baking. Turn one loaf over; if the bottom crust sounds hard and hollow when tapped with the forefinger, the bread is done.

(I always check with an instant read thermometer to see that this type of bread reads 200 degrees F)

Place the bread on a meal rack to cool. Excellent toasted.

e.t.a. I think I am wrong about the internal temp of this bread when it is done. Because of all the eggs and the cheese (clabber) it should maybe read 190 degrees F. If it were cooked to 200 it might be too dry.

 

[country lady]

When I was a child, one southern relative's wife would make gravy with clabbered milk. I always thought of it as soured milk. It seemed like a cheap meal since this lady had little money, but on the other hand, she was not a very good cook. Miss Prissy, was this a southern dish in GA?