Bread making basic ingredients – Salt

Salt is a key ingredient and has many functions. It controls yeast growth and makes the dough more elastic, resulting in a better texture. Without salt, the bread may rise too quickly and collapse when baked. Salt adds flavour and improves the colour of the crust. Even sweet recipes need salt to taste good. Without salt, your bread won’t taste very nice and won’t look attractive either. However, too much salt can stop the dough from rising properly. Use ordinary table salt and measure it carefully.
Salt and sugar are essential when making bread as they affect its moisture, taste and texture.
They also help the bread stay fresh.

Types of salt that can be used
The type of salt you use depends on what you’re making and what taste you like. If you want your bread to be salty, use table salt. You can try different types of salt, like sea salt, to find the one you like best.
Table salt
If a recipe says “salt,” use table salt. For best results, use a standard-grain (table) salt. Almost all table salt is granulated and iodized. If you like a sharp salt taste, use this type of salt. It does provide the same effect as other salts in retarding yeast growth and perfecting bread texture.
Sea salt
Sprinkle a small amount of sea salt as a topping on savoury bread for more flavour. Ground sea salt dissolves well in the dough, giving you the benefits of salt for the perfect texture, crumb, and colour of your bread. Different types of salt have different flavours. Taste the salt first to make sure it matches the other ingredients.
Kosher salt
Kosher salt dissolves easily and won’t make your baked goods taste too sharp and salty. But, unlike sea salt, it adds no extra flavour to your bread.

Important notes
Here are some tips for using salt in your bread:
- When you add salt to the bread pan, put it away from the yeast in a corner of the pan. This is especially important if you’re using a time delay.
- Different types of salt measure differently. Large-grain kosher and coarse-grain sea salt are not the same as table salt.
- “Light” salt can be used instead of table salt if it contains potassium chloride and sodium. Use the same amount as table salt.
Too much salt can affect the yeast’s activity.
- If you don’t use enough salt, your dough will rise too much. Sometimes, you can leave out salt for dietary reasons and use a vegetable seasoning substitute.
- Salt can stop the yeast from rising. Use less salt if your loaves are coming out too short.

What are the basic ingredients to make basic bread?
The basic ingredients to make bread are like instruments in an orchestra; each one does a specific job and gives a unique flavour to the bread. The right amount of each ingredient is essential to get the best taste. When you bake bread, a reaction happens to make a final masterpiece.
Excellent bread is as good as the ingredients that go into it. The basics for bread are simple: liquid like water or milk, fat like butter or oil, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Bread can taste better using additional ingredients, different grains and flours. There are also quite a few bread improvers that you can add to your home-baked bread, depending on what quality you are trying to improve.
I hope my easy tips will give you the confidence to step into the kitchen and prepare delicious meals to eat with a handful of close friends.
Have you made a Fast2eat Recipe? I love seeing your take on my recipe!