What is the purpose of salt when baking bread?

Question

I read from a recipe telling me to put 1 pinch of salt into the mixture flour and water.. But such a small amount of salt does it really make a big differences when baking?

Answer 1

The salt in bread has two functions one is
flavor . without salt bread would taste very bland. In yeast type bread the salt not only gives it more flavor it regulates the action of the yeast . In bakery terms with out salt the yeast would go wild consuming the sugar and flour and you would have a loaf of bread with very undesirable texture and crumb structure also the crust would not brown properly because the yeast would have eaten to much of the sugar.
people on a salt free diet could omit the salt but the bread would not look or taste the same . I hope this has helped you with the function of salt in bread. jim b

Answer 2

Salt enhances flavors. If you were baking bread and didn't add salt the bread would be inedible. Cookies and cakes benefit from a little bit of salt too. If you have the time and inclination, bake two batches. One with salt and one without. You'll be able to tell the difference.

Answer 3

Without salt the flavor will be very blah to the pallet and you will not like it at all.
Salt does a number of things in bread:
it is first a flavor enhancer
it helps bind gluten
it also retards fermentation(without salt your dough will be very unmanageable and wild.
Remember when making bread you don't need a lot of salt to bring out the flavor.So don't worry to much about the sodium it adds it should be very minute.

Answer 4

yes,that little pinch does make a difference,the quantity is very small but the difference is appreciable,it adds flavour & taste to the dough & eventually to the bread,without this pinch the bread would be totally bland & tasteless.If diet restrictions are the consideration here that pinch is not going to make a great difference to the sodium intake,go ahead add that pinch & enjoy your loaf.

Answer 5

to be honest you really donot need salt in your bread if you do not want it .it is just for a little taste, i do not put salt i put a little sugar in my bread