Salt

Appears in

Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes

Published 2004

About

For centuries, salt was a rare and expensive commodity; the cause of wars and strife, it enriched some and impoverished others. Towns were named after it (Salzburg, for example, means “salt town”). Bread and salt have long implied welcome and hospitality; words like salary have their root in the word salt. Taxes on it over the centuries have many times resulted in riots and massacres.

Prior to the 1700s, salt was rarely used in bread production. Although there are still areas where salt is used in either very small quantities or not at all (Tuscany being an example), people today almost universally consider bread to be of the highest quality only when salt is used in appropriate quantities. Although it is quite insignificant in terms of the weight it contributes to a loaf of bread, salt is nevertheless a major component in bread, and performs several important functions.

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