Saturday, July 24, 2004
Another sellout at the Market. I had a special order for salt free whole wheat and it never got picked up. Too bad, too, because I felt funny giving the salt free loaf to a charitable cause. I've never tasted salt free bread, but I imagine the 100% whole wheat would taste a bit like cardboard.
I would bet that most people don't know that salt does more than to flavor the bread, so here's a mini primer:
The salt we use at the bakery is made up mostly of sodium chloride. The sodium and the chloride are ions that partially separate when salt is dissolved in water.
In breadmaking, salt will change the texture of the dough, because it will change the number of water molecules available for absorption by the flour -- in layman's terms, that means the flour can't hold onto as much water when salt is added to the dough.
Salt also slows the growth and activity of the microorganisms called yeast. (Yeast are the tiny guys who do most of the flavorful work in bread).
Salt is important in the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is what makes some breads have an incredible bright brown crust. The Maillard reaction occurs in other foods (like prime rib). It also contributes in normal aging that occurs in our own bodies and you can learn more at The University of South Carolina website http://maillard.sc.edu/.
I would bet that most people don't know that salt does more than to flavor the bread, so here's a mini primer:
The salt we use at the bakery is made up mostly of sodium chloride. The sodium and the chloride are ions that partially separate when salt is dissolved in water.
In breadmaking, salt will change the texture of the dough, because it will change the number of water molecules available for absorption by the flour -- in layman's terms, that means the flour can't hold onto as much water when salt is added to the dough.
Salt also slows the growth and activity of the microorganisms called yeast. (Yeast are the tiny guys who do most of the flavorful work in bread).
Salt is important in the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is what makes some breads have an incredible bright brown crust. The Maillard reaction occurs in other foods (like prime rib). It also contributes in normal aging that occurs in our own bodies and you can learn more at The University of South Carolina website http://maillard.sc.edu/.
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