[Sca-cooks] Bread machine revisited...

[Jeff Elder]

Yep, Google-ing "salt free bread" pretty much turns up those results!

Salt has several functions in baked goods:

It contributes to overall flavor.
In bread, it controls the fermentation rate of yeast.
It has a strengthening effect on the gluten protein in the dough.
Without salt, bread rises faster and air pockets enlarge where the gluten
has broken, allowing holes to form. Bread made without salt will taste
bland. If you choose to eliminate salt, decrease the proofing time so that
the large air pockets don't have time to develop. Salt should not be
eliminated from recipes using automatic bread-making machines.

So people have made recipes that go in the machine to prove that statement
wrong!

Listed as a Tuscan bread recipe, salt free due to salt taxes, the secret
could be in the egg whites;
http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/bread-machine-recipes/crusty-salt-free-br
ead.htm
"Crusty Salt Free Bread
Years ago, salt was heavily taxed so the people of Tuscany often baked their
bread without it. Today they enjoy salt-free bread with salty salami and
cheeses. The beaten egg whites make the dough quite moist but they add extra
crispiness to the crust - a good way to up leftover egg whites from egg
breads or custards. "

Simon Hondy
"Cum Omni humilitate
faciant ipsas artes"
  -St. Benedict


> -----Original Message-----
> From: sca-cooks-bounces+scholari=verizon.net at ansteorra.org
> [mailto:sca-cooks-bounces+scholari=verizon.net at ansteorra.org]On Behalf
> Of Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius
> Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2006 9:47 AM
> To: Cooks within the SCA
> Subject: [Sca-cooks] Bread machine revisited...
>
>
> Hullo, the list!
>
> This is actually a question from my lady wife, who has made this a
> project of her own: does anyone have a tested, salt-free recipe for a
> [n otherwise] standard white, high-gluten French or Italian, or whole
> wheat loaf, specifically designed for a bread machine?
>
> So far, all we've got is a book on order, which speaks of using an
> unspecified, lower proportion of quick-rising yeast, and a faster
> cycle with one rise only. Apparently the technique takes advantage of
> the behavior of both yeast and gluten when not in them presence of
> salt: generally, things inflate very quickly and then collapse
> quickly, too, so the trick is to bake them quickly before that happens.
>
> However, baking being baking and not cooking, I was wondering if
> anyone had a detailed set of instructions for this one.
>
> Many thanks!
>
> Adamantius
>