The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

When to add the salt

HappyHighwayman's picture
HappyHighwayman

When to add the salt

The Tartine recipe I used calls for 50 gramsof water and the salt to be added after the initial 30 minute bowl rise. I used to be lazy and just mix it in right away, but the last 2 times I followed the instructions and the bread turned out noticeably better.

 

What is the reason for that?

 

qahtan's picture
qahtan

I always add my last.......... qahtan

golgi70's picture
golgi70

As soon as you add salt you are going to slow the fermentation cycle down.  So maybe that half hour jump start is built into the formula.  If you add the salt right away you may need to extend bulk fermentation to reach the same state as the latter.  How long I'm not sure. Let the dough lead.  Next time you make it holding the salt back notice what the dough is like after its proper fermentation.  Then you can try it adding the salt early and see how much longer you need to wait for it to come to the same state of fermentation.  

Like qahtan I generally add my salt just before turning my speed up and after the levain/yeast have been mixed into the autolyse.  

Josh

 

Josh