I have a recipe from 1891 where the author gives instructions on how to build a small cupboard with a lamp to make a starter and rise the loaves. The recipe is from Palm Beach, Florida where it was difficult to obtain yeast, so this type of bread was a must. The article is titled "Bread without yeast" - http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00075915/00431/5j This one has no milk as there were no cows in South Florida! Very similar to what you describe above, but 1890s style! The Sitting Room was a weekly column by Byrd Spilman Dewey (pen name Aunt Judith) in South Florida's first newspaper.

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