Any Home Bakers Here?

[tjo804]

Well it looks like a real loaf



Have to let it cool to give the taste test. I actually replaced the yeast with 200g of sourdough starter too.

That looks very nice. If it is a good as it looks you will have no complaints.

 

[appps]

Well it got the thumbs up from the kids . I think I would have to say the salt did make a difference. Normally it has almost a cake texture if that makes sense but this time it was lovely and soft.

 

[N F C]

The Pink Himalayan salt is actually mined, it has a very high mineral content compared to the salts that are harvested from water. I found this article comparing the various salts that's interesting:
http://authoritynutrition.com/different-types-of-salt/

We used to get various salts for our store from a company called Saltworks (they sell at a retail level too) and their website is full of interesting information and salts that are fun to try. I love their smoked salts.
http://www.saltworks.us/

 

[sunflour]

Well it got the thumbs up from the kids . I think I would have to say the salt did make a difference. Normally it has almost a cake texture if that makes sense but this time it was lovely and soft.

Very nice - interesting that the salt made the texture difference.

 

[sunflour]

I believe it does naturally, table salt is so refined that it loses it's natural nutrients thus the reason Iodine has to be added to it

Iodine was added to salt to avoid thyroid goiters - it is necessary to produce the thyroid hormones. And historically, the only other natural source was fish or shellfish from the ocean which were only available to people living on the coast. When refrigeration became available they could ship the fish everywhere and it became less of an issue.

But today, most fish and shellfish are farm raised and lack the necessary iodine.

If you prefer to use salt without added iodine, make sure you are eating wild caught ocean fishes - hmmmmm and that may open up the debate on mercury?

 

[N F C]

The salt questions got me wondering about how it acts in baked goods so I looked up several references to that. They all say basically the same thing, salt primarily acts 3 ways 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.

 

[ronott1]

Well it looks like a real loaf



Have to let it cool to give the taste test. I actually replaced the yeast with 200g of sourdough starter too.

Nice!

 

[ronott1]

The salt questions got me wondering about how it acts in baked goods so I looked up several references to that. They all say basically the same thing, salt primarily acts 3 ways 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.

Yes!

Notice it says that it controls the fermentation rate. It does not say that it kills the yeast--I makes the rise slower--which develops the flavor.

Too slow is bad though which is why the amount of salt and yeast in the recipe is important.

 

[room onthebroom]

What a wealth of great info here! I don't use much salt in daily cooking, because the handful of other seasonings we use give the food lots of flavor, but I always, ALWAYS use a bit of salt in anything we bake because it makes such a total difference in taste & texture. I never knew why, just could tell from the finished product, so I'm anxious to read that hyperlink. When I eat popcorn I grind on the Himalayan Pink, but in baking I use the sea salt, because its smaller granules. Also when I bake bread in the bread machine I always add the salt at the bottom & the yeast & sugar together at the top. No where in the directions does it say to do that, I guess I'm just superstitious.

apps... I haven't had breakfast yet & oooooooh I'm salivating over that bread!!!

 

[tjo804]

I think I will head outside and make up some new words as I try to make a new laying box for the Cochin. Bigger and Closer to the ground.

Then I am sure I am going to try NFC's cracker recipe with some cheese spread.

I hope you all have a blessed day!