For nine decades, Our State has made its way into homes across North Carolina, the United States, and the world. To celebrate, every month this year, we’re paying tribute to the readers who inspire us, offering a taste of our earliest recipes, and revisiting old stories with new insights. Follow along to find out how our past has shaped our present.
July 31, 1937 • Traditionally known as “Sally Lunn,” these hot breads were allegedly one of George Washington’s favorites, according to an 1892 newspaper. Carol Dare remembers running to her grandma’s house as a child for a taste of the biscuit-like loaf.
Yield: 1 round loaf.
1 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided
1 (2-ounce) yeast cake or 3 (¼-ounce) packs dry active yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Heat milk in a saucepan over medium heat just until bubbles form on outer edge; do not boil. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar. Remove from heat and set aside until lukewarm. Crumble yeast cake or active yeast packets into milk and stir until dissolved. Place mixture in a large bowl and let sit for 1 hour at room temperature.
Add flour, eggs, salt, butter, and remaining sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add milk mixture. Using the dough hook attachment, mix all ingredients on medium speed until a stiff dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Grease hands liberally with vegetable oil and place dough into a large, well-greased Dutch oven. Rub excess oil over top of dough. Allow dough to rise until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake for 45 minutes.
— Recipe adapted by Lynn Wells
To commemorate our 90th anniversary, we’ve compiled a time line that highlights the stories, contributors, and themes that have shaped this magazine — and your view of the Old North State — using nine decades of our own words.
From its northernmost point in Corolla to its southern terminus on Cedar Island, this scenic byway — bound between sound and sea — links the islands and communities of the Outer Banks.
Us? An icon? Well, after 90 years and more than 2,000 issues celebrating North Carolina from mountains to coast, we hope you’ll agree that we’ve earned the title.
After nearly a century — or just a couple of years — these seafood restaurants have become coastal icons, the places we know, love, and return to again and again.
