30.3 Salt in baking

The kinds of salt, where it comes from and how to store it are covered with seasonings. see chapter 20: What salt is

In a yeast dough, salt does three things: it controls fermentation, it conditions the dough, and it gives flavor.

Salt and fermentation

Controlling fermentation is the most important of the three.

• Salt slows the yeast, keeping its growth in healthy check.
• It stops unwanted bacteria and wild fermentations from taking hold.
• It keeps the dough from turning too acidic.
• Because it holds fermentation back, less of the sugar is used up before baking, and the crust browns better in the oven.

Salt and the dough

Salt tightens and strengthens gluten, so it adds strength to any flour. Firmer gluten holds water and gas better, and the dough can stretch as it rises without tearing. This matters most when the dough water is soft or the flour is immature; in either case, using the full amount of salt helps keep the dough from turning soft and sticky.

Salt does not bleach the crumb. It does give a finer grain with thin cell walls, though, and that makes the inside of the loaf look whiter.

Salt and flavor

Without salt, bread tastes flat and dull. Only part of the difference is the taste of salt itself. Salt also brings out the flavors that the yeast creates from the other ingredients. Too little or too much salt is the first thing a taster notices in bread. The same 2% of salt can taste plainly salty in one bread and just right in another, often because of the minerals in the water.

How much, and when

Most doughs take about 1.75% to 2.25% salt, by the weight of the flour. Some authorities work it out from the water instead, at about 30 g of salt per liter (1 oz. per qt.). In hot summer weather many bakers add a little more salt than in winter, to guard against the dough fermenting the wrong way.