What role does salt play in baking?

Salt plays a vital role in our daily life. We cannot do without salt for three meals a day. However, many people don’t know that salt is also indispensable in baking.

Friends who often bake know that water, salt, yeast and flour are the four basic elements of bread. As one of the four elements, salt occupies a vital position in the bread making process.

The contribution of salt in baking is reflected in many aspects, especially in increasing the flavor of bread, improving the physical properties of dough, inhibiting the components in wheat flour that are not conducive to fermentation, regulating the role of enzymes and preventing the growth of miscellaneous bacteria. Salt plays an irreplaceable role. Then let’s talk about the specific role of salt in baking.

The role of salt in baking

01 Enhance flavor
The basic saltiness brought by salt not only adds a subtle salty fragrance to bread when making it, but also achieves a perfect fusion of sweet and salty tastes with sugar, thereby significantly improving the overall flavor of bread.
In the production of low-ingredient breads such as French and German, adding salt in moderation can also effectively highlight the wheat aroma of the flour itself, making the taste of the bread richer and more layered.

02 Enhance dough gluten
By dissolving protein, salt can change the physical properties of the dough and improve its ability to absorb water, thereby making the gluten network tighter, enhancing the elasticity and toughness of the dough, and ensuring that it is not easy to break during expansion.
In addition, when the dough shows obvious relaxation or adhesion, adding salt in moderation can effectively reduce the adhesion of the dough, making it easier to shape and achieve the ideal forming effect.

03 Improve the gas retention of the dough
Salt in the dough can affect the activity of proteases, giving the originally relaxed dough better elasticity, thereby enhancing its ability to retain gas. As the gas retention of the dough increases, the pores inside the baked bread will become more delicate.

04 Regulate the dough fermentation rate
When the amount of salt added exceeds 0.1% of the amount of flour, it will produce significant osmotic pressure on microorganisms, thereby inhibiting the fermentation activity of yeast and slowing down the fermentation rate of the dough.
By inhibiting the activity of yeast, salt can regulate the rate of gas generation inside the dough and ensure uniform distribution of air pressure. This allows the entire gluten network to expand and stretch smoothly, forming a uniform, delicate, and non-porous internal structure as the bread increases in volume.

05 Antibacterial and preservation effects
Under humid conditions, salt can effectively absorb moisture from the surrounding environment, thereby helping the bread maintain its softness and reducing its rate of deterioration.
In addition, salt can inhibit the ability of yeast to produce gas while exerting excellent bactericidal effects. Wild bacteria have a low tolerance to salt. Salt can not only inhibit the growth of these bacteria, but can even completely eliminate them, thereby achieving the purpose of preservation and preservation.

06 Improve bread texture and color
By adding salt, the consumption rate of sugar can be slowed down, thereby enhancing the color of the bread surface. At the same time, salt can also increase the toughness of gluten and form a tighter organizational structure inside the bread. Therefore, the baked bread has a whiter color inside and a more delicate taste.

Salt addition ratio in baking

When making different types of bread, the salt addition ratio will also be different. Generally speaking, the amount of salt added to toast bread is between 1.8% and 2%, that of sweet bread is between 0.8% and 1.2%, and that of French bread is between 1.8% and 2.2%. The type of product determines the specific amount of salt used.
At the same time, the amount of salt added is also affected by seasonal changes (such as the difference between summer and winter), the balance of the ratio between raw materials, and the specific volume of bread. Therefore, in practical applications, the amount of salt used may be adjusted.
When using soft water to make bread, we can increase the amount of salt appropriately.
For bread making methods that require long fermentation, such as the overnight fermentation method, even if more bread yeast is used, as long as the right amount of salt is added, the dough can be effectively stabilized and the taste, aroma and color of the bread can be positively improved.
In addition, bread with a smaller specific volume or a lower sugar and oil content is more likely to taste salt when eaten. Therefore, in this case, the amount of salt should be precisely controlled to achieve the best taste.

Common salts used in baking

Sea salt:
Sea salt is a kind of edible salt refined by introducing seawater into salt pans and undergoing natural processes such as sunlight, water evaporation and crystallization. Compared with other types of salt, sea salt can retain more trace elements in seawater, thereby enhancing the original flavor of the ingredients. Sea salt is often used when making baked goods such as salt croissants and raw toast.

Baking salt:
This salt is mainly used for the surface decoration of European bread. It has good baking stability and high temperature resistance. Baking salt presents a uniform coarse granular shape, which is significantly larger than the granules of ordinary table salt. It can be sprinkled directly on the surface of the dough or used for decorative embellishment of other foods. For example, when making German knot bread, baking salt is often used for surface decoration.
In the process of bread making, although only a few grams of salt are added, its role in the baking process cannot be underestimated. Mastering the skills of using salt is essential for making high-quality bread. In order to give bread a richer flavor, baking enthusiasts need to continue to conduct in-depth research and exploration.

About Cheersonic
Cheersonic manufactures the leading portioning equipment for bakeries producing fresh and frozen desserts. Since 1998 bakers have used Cheersonic machines to cut, slice and portion cheesecake, pie, layer cake, loaves, butter, cheese, pizza, sandwichs, and more. Cheersonic offers ultrasonic cutting solutions that support start-up bakeries and high production commercial facilities alike. Small standalone machines can be used in manual baking facilities and large inline robotic solutions aid in high speed production.

Cheersonic offers many ultrasonic slicing models, both inline and offline applications, with production speeds of 80 to 1,500 cakes or pies per hour.

Cheersonic’ latest offline introductions include ultrasonic cutting with or without divider inserts between each slice. This improves the quality of the cut and makes for a much better product presentation for the customer. In addition, robotic arm improves the speed, efficiency, and accuracy of the cutting process, producing professional looking products every time.

Chinese Website: Cheersonic Provides Professional Ultrasonic Cutting Solutions