Fluffy Route To Low-Salt Bread

Abstract

Bread baked to a fluffier texture tastes saltier than more dense counterparts of the dietary staple, a new study shows (J. Agric. Food Chem., DOI: 10.1021/jf403304y). This discovery might prove useful for lowering the salt content in bread—the highest single source of sodium in the U.S. diet. Health experts have long advocated a reduced-sodium diet as one way to prevent cardiovascular disease. And food chemists are rising to the challenge of creating more low-salt foods. But reducing salt in bread is not easy. Sodium chloride affects the activity of yeast, and it extends shelf life in addition to other benefits. Plus people like the taste better. Salt substitutes haven’t worked that well. The research indicates that the flavor issue in low-salt bread can be addressed via texture. Peter Koehler of the German Research Center for Food Chemistry decided to examine how texture affects the perception of saltiness in yeast breads. ...