August 12, 2009 - 11:41am
Effects of salt on fermentation and proofing
I have often heard that salt interferes with the yeasts ability to consume flour, and therefore leads to less active fermentation. I assume that this is the reasoning that sponges are often made without the salt, and only at the final stage before shaping your dough is the salt added.
Does anyone have any experience with trying salt during bulk fermentation, and noticing any differences? If salt does indeed hamper the yeast, I assume you could either use a larger percentage of starter, or a more active starter. If it doesn't have much of an effect, I would just as well start adding it in the beginning to keep my formulas simpler.
Thanks for the help.
Danny - Sour Flour
http://www.sourflour.org [1]