[Sca-cooks] Bread machine revisited...

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Feb 26, 2006, at 10:58 AM, Jeff Elder wrote:

>
>
> 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.

Well, the impression I get is that it should never simply be omitted  
from an otherwise proven-successful recipe wherein it is intended to  
be there, but there may be some recipes specifically designed to bee  
salt-free and used in a machine.

Hey, this is for my elderly mother, what can I say?

>
> 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. "

Thanks! I'll look into it!

Adamantius




"S'ils n'ont pas de pain, vous fait-on dire, qu'ils  mangent de la  
brioche!" / "If there's no bread to be had, one has to say, let them  
eat cake!"
     -- attributed to an unnamed noblewoman by Jean-Jacques Rousseau,  
"Confessions", 1782

"Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy -- or go on Prozac?"
     -- Susan Sheybani, assistant to Bush campaign spokesman Terry  
Holt, 07/29/04