It’s possible that you’ve never even considered the question of salt, but salt in an essential component in baking. Sure, you may only add 1/2 a teaspoon at a time to your baked goods, but don’t take salt for granted! Salt accentuates the flavor of bakes goods. It particularly enhances the flavors of butter, and flour, and salt works wonders in a recipe with chocolate!
In bread baking, salt helps the gluten hold more water and carbon dioxide. Did you know that it also creates a stronger and tighter crumb.
There are three major types of salt in stores. How do you choose?
Jump on over, let’s talk salt!
Iodized Table Salt
Table salt is made by sending water down into inland salt mines and then evaporating that water until only salt crystals remain. In the 1920’s iodine was added to table salt in an effort to prevent goiters (yikes…) which were caused by an iodide deficiency. Most table salts sold in the United States are iodized.
Kosher Salt
Kosher salt is an additive free salt. It is racked during evaporation, which creates its characteristic flakes. Kosher salt comes in a course grain and a fine grain. The fine grain is great for baking, because it disperses quickly into ingredients. A course grain salt could have trouble evenly distributing through a baking recipe, and you wouldn’t want that.
Sea Salt
Sea salt is created from evaporated sea water. The process is a bit more costly than the inland mining process of table salt, and sea salt may contain trace amounts of minerals. Because there are many seas around the world, there are many varieties of sea salt: Celtic sea salt, Hawaiian sea salt, Fleur de Sel, and Sicilian sea salt, to mention just a few. Basically, if there’s a sea, there’s a good chance it has a salt. I use a fine grain sea salt- La Baleine from France. It’s nothing terribly fancy and can be found in most grocery stores in the states.
So which salt is best for baking? I know I’m supposed to have a definitive answer for you, but really… just use whatever salt makes you feel fine and dandy. The truth of the matter- in a blind chocolate chip cookie taste test, you may not be able to taste the difference between table salt, kosher salt and sea salt. It depends on how sensitive your palate is to salt. I happen to to think that iodized table salt has a stronger salt taste. I choose sea salt because it feels like it has a cleaner salt taste that accentuates other ingredients but isn’t an assault on the taste buds.
Do you have a favorite salt?
Bon Bon
I read that yeast likes the mineral content of sea salt. It supposedly helps the yeast develop. I don’t know whether or not it is true, but I use sea salt in my home baked bread.
Marissa
I’m experimenting with baby foods at the moment. My little one really wants to be able to hold onto what she is eating with her hands, and I really need to be sure she is getting the nutrients she needs. What I’d like to experiment with is, is putting my purees and baby mash into something like a wanton wrapper. Under 12 months, it is advised that baby food is salt free. I’m unable to find a salt free recipe though. Wanton dough needs to be quite tight, so it needs something. Does anyone have any suggestions?
GooGLe GiRLs
iodized salt is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! always has been always will be!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Erika
I use kosher salt for everyday cooking, and sea salt (which I usually pick up when I’m in France)when I want a finer grain, or for baking. I stopped buying iodized salt altogether.
Latifa
I USE IMPORTED ORGANIC SEA SALT
tara
i use table salt in my baking unless a recipe calls for Kosher salt, like many of Ina Garten’s do.
JUDIE
Personally, I use a plain fine grind sea salt like Hain for baking. I don’t thik you can discern the delicate nuances found in the various sea salts once they are baked. I love experimenting with different salts for finishing dishes. Black, Aussie Pink, real fleur de sel from the Camarque are wonderful for giving the dish an extra bit of oomph at the end. Amazingly, TJ Maxx has the best selection I’ve found & the best prices.
Holly
I have been wondering about this very thing lately. I use kosher when I’m cooking because I like the taste and how smooth it melts, but I use sea salt in most baking.
Tartelette
I like to use either Kosher salt or La Baleine, mostly because that’s what I grew up on :)
Luke
I usually go with plain old table salt for measured amounts of salt and kosher salt from the salt pig for a pinch of salt. It is a lot easier to sprinkle kosher salt because of the larger grains… much easier to control.
One important thing to remember is that 1 tsp of table salt does not equal 1 tsp of kosher salt. Because of the large grains in kosher salt, there is more air in 1 tsp than in table salt. Instead of measuring volume, it would be better to use weight. It probably doesn’t matter too much, but for things like bread where the salt percentage is pretty important, it would be better to stick with table salt. When a recipe calls for 1 tsp of salt, it is expecting 1 tsp of table salt.
Deborah
I never used to even know there were different kinds of salt, but now I have both coarse and fine sea salt, regular table salt, and Kosher salt in my pantry. And I just found some red sea salt at the store yesterday – I’m excited to try it out! I have noticed in one of my Cooking Illustrated cookbooks, they tell which kind of salt works best, which I really like because I would never know what to use!
sandra
For bake I use sel de Guerande, sea salt from French region, Guerande…
Very interesting topic joythebaker!
danielle
Great topic! I have all three you mentioned in my pantry. I can’t say that I have a method to which one I use at any given time. I usually just go by what the recipe suggests. I do lurve La Baleine!