Calling All Bakers: Salt-Free Bread???

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   DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years ago

   My husband just got put on a severely salt-restricted diet by his cardiologist.  (Only 1500 mg per day!)
   
   I have been going crazy reading labels, and trying to get healthy food for him.  It is no easy task.  I've known for many years that the big agri-business food producers add salt to everything, but it's gotten even worse.  More foods with unnecessary salt, and more of it.
   
   Even bread.  I do have a bread machine, and I can make bread if it comes to that.  But what I am wondering, is whether the salt is a strictly needed component for the chemical reaction with the yeast, or if it is just the sugar needed for that?  Store-bought bread seems to be in the 140 mg per slice range..with a little variance one way or the other depending on type of bread.  If I can leave out the salt, that would be awesome. 
   
   (I have already experimented with making home made salt-free tomato sauce, and it came out delicious.  Next time, I'll have to do a much larger batch, and freeze it!  )

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      SomewayOuttaHereposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      i haven't made bread in a while...however i was raised on a salt free diet and had only started using salt about 5 years ago....when i baked bread i know i would not have used the amount of salt called for in a receipe...so i figure you could get away with using very very little salt....my bread was good.

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         DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks, SomewayOuttaHere..
         
         I appreciate that input..  I can't even imagine trying to cook salt-free these days:  you'd have to cook every last little thing from scratch, and you'd have no time to do anything but cook and tend a vegetable garden...year round--you'd need to build a hot house as well..
         But, it's good to know the salt can be very much reduced.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Frozen vegetables have all the goodness of fresh (and often more, because they haven't been sitting in cool rooms for months).  Here in Australia there's a huge range of frozen veg -  isn't that the case in the US?  What about salads - fresh lettuce, tomatoes etc don't contain salt and if you use balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make a dressing, it will be low in sodium yet tasty.

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      Sally's Troveposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Salt controls the growth of yeast in bread dough. The less salt, the faster the yeast works and thus expires.
      
      You can make delicious bread without any salt, but it won't have the texture or the flavor you might be used to.
      
      Pane Tuscano is an expensive artisan bread offered here in one of our local bakeries. It is made without salt but with all the other ingredients you'd expect in a white bread. It's full of air holes, has a slightly spongy texture, and has a mild sour taste. Once you've eaten it, you'll want more!
      
      Just experiment a bit using a traditional white bread recipe but leaving out the salt.
      
      You don't need salt to make a great bread.

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         DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Hi, Sally,
           Thanks very much for that information.  The Pane Tuscano sounds delish.  ... perhaps something on the order of our San Francisco sourdough French bread....(which recipe they've trotted around the world and tried--it just doesn't come out right anywhere else--something about the climate, apparently).
           Good to know the reason for the salt--thanks very much for explaining that. ...So, I guess the bread would not rise as much, and would be more dense, then...  ...

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      recommend1posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      My advice would be to make your own bread without salt.  And take a hard look at the other stuff you buy, including salt free advertised,  there is usally a sodium of some kind in it !!
      
      My experience is that if you want to change diet - you have to completely change the style of buying and cooking.  Fresh veg, unprocessed and uncured meats.  And then get into the whole fun thing of making new stuff and finding new meals that make a regular appearance.
      
      Oh yes - and do not constantly whinge about bacon or cheese sandwiches and the other high salt goodies that we are used to - just put them out of mind and especially out of the conversation - start to enthuse about fresh tomato with basil, cottage cheese with stawberry jam on home made bread etc.
      
      Good luck

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   paradigmsearchposted 12 years ago

   This is a long shot, but Trader Joe's seems to specialize in the unusual.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Ah, Trader Joe's .. Yes, paradigm, I'll have to check over there, as well.  Thanks for the reminder.

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   2uesdayposted 12 years ago

   I have never tried the recipes on this site but it seems to have recipes to make salt free bread etc.
   
   http://www.bloodpressureuk.org/BloodPre … -freebread
   
   I hope that is of some use to you and others needing to cut out salt.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi, 2uesday--
        Thanks for that link--I'll check it out!  I appreciate your time in looking this up.

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   Helena Rickettsposted 12 years ago

   You don't need salt or sugar to make yeast bread.  I make it with flour, yeast, water (or beer), a bit of baking powder and SOMETIMES I put salt in it but most of the time I leave it out.  It is brushed with butter toward the end of the baking to make the crust really yummy but unsalted butter could be easily used.
   
   The texture is more rustic that the fluffy soft bread you buy at the store but it's also more substantial, filling and it holds up against soups and stews.  It makes a really nice grilled cheese or french toast.
   
   I did a recipe hub on this bread so if you go to my profile and scroll down to almost half way, you'll see it on the left column.  I'd post the link here to it but I don't think we are allowed to do that.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, Thanks, Helena,
      Funny--I always thought you had to put sugar to 'feed' the yeast so it would work.  Interesting! 
        I'll go check that Hub of yours out, for sure.  (We don't like those uber-soft fluffed-up breads they sell, anyway--we call it "kid-stuff bread."  LOL)
      
      Hubby is not on sugar restriction, per se; he's not a diabetic--they just said, "no concentrated sugars,'" i.e. candy bars, etc. ... but that is an interesting tidbit nonetheless.  Thanks for your suggestion.

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         That Grrlposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I don't use a bread machine but I have made salt free bread before and had it turn out fine I've never tried yeast without adding a pinch of sugar. I might try that next time.

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