FEATURE

Role of Salt in Baking

function of salt are outside the expertise of The effect of salt on mixing time and
➤ The functions of salt in baking the authors and will not be discussed fur- dough strengthening is explained as fol-
include stabilizing the yeast ther in this manuscript. lows. In a flour-water system at a normal
fermentation rate, strengthening An important function of salt in bread- pH (~6.0), the gluten protein has a
the dough, enhancing the flavor of making is its stabilizing effect on fermen- net positive charge. These posi-
the final product, and increasing tation. In dough made without salt, the tive charges repulse each
dough mixing time. yeast ferments excessively resulting in other. This allows the glu-
gassy, sour dough and baked products with ten to hydrate faster
➤ In addition to sodium chloride,
open grain and poor texture (14). Salt in- (shorter mixing time)
there are other salts that are
hibits or “controls” fermentation rate by and keeps the pro-
important in baking, especially
decreasing the rate of gas production (6), tein chains from
in chemically leavened products
which results in longer proof times (18,25). interacting with
such as cake, biscuits, pancakes,
This appears to be the result of increased each other, re-
etc.
osmotic pressure and the action of the so- sulting in a
➤ It has been reported that cereal dium and chloride ions on the membrane weaker dough.
products contribute about 25% of the yeast cells (14). Salt gives the baker Low levels of
of the sodium intake in Western a tool to control the production of carbon salt shield the
diets. dioxide gas and the other products of fer- charges (19)
➤ Potassium chloride is widely used mentation, especially in the warm summer allowing the
as a partial salt substitute. months if temperature control is a problem protein chains
in the bakery. to approach each
It is well known in the baking industry other. This causes
that salt lengthens the mixing time of the flour to hydrate
dough (Fig. 1). This has been well more slowly (longer
R. A. Miller documented by the farinograph (7,13,17, mixing time) and allows the
Kansas State University 21,22,27,29) and in the mixograph (4, protein chains to react more
Manhattan, KS 12,24). The longer mix time slows the rate tenaciously to form a stron-
of production in large bakeries that are on ger dough (3,4,29). Danno
R. C. Hoseney tight production schedules and increases and Hoseney (4) showed that
R&R Research Services, Inc. the energy cost of mixing. Therefore it is doughs that had been over-
Manhattan, KS common practice to delay salt addition mixed to the point that they
until the dough has reached the clean-up had lost their elas-
T he general term salt in baking formu-
las refers to sodium chloride. Salt is
one of the four essential ingredients in
stage (when the dough forms into a
continuous mass and no longer sticks to
tic character could
be returned to a
the sides of the mixer). At this stage the normal elasticity
bread (flour, salt, yeast, and water). The
dough is essentially hydrated and the by the addition
functions of salt in baking include stabi-
added salt does not affect the time required of salt. They
lizing yeast fermentation rate, strengthen-
to finish mixing. also showed that
ing the dough, enhancing the flavor of the
Farinograph studies have also shown at high levels of
final product, and increasing dough mix-
that salt decreases water absorption (7,13, salt (>10%), dough
ing time.
21,22,27,29). This effect was not reported did not form in the time
The flavor-enhancing function of salt is
in mixograph or baking studies. frame of the experiment
well known. Omitting salt from the for-
It is well known that salt has a strength- (Fig. 1).
mula results in baked products that are
ening effect on dough. This
quite tasteless. At the level used, salt does
has been documented
not impart a salty taste to the product but
in the farinograph
rather brings out the other flavors in the
(7,13,17,22,
system. It is also known to increase sweet-
27,29), mixo-
ness and mask metallic, bitter, or other off
graph (4,12,24),
flavors. The reasons and mechanism of this
extensigraph
(21,27), and
doi:10.1094 / CFW-53-1-0004 baking stud-
© 2008 AACC International, Inc. ies (5,6,9).

 / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2008, VOL. 53, NO. 1

 Although salt increases dough strength, The chaotropic salts have the opposite ef- (10) suggested could be accommodated in
levels of salt above the optimum level of fect with the protein being more hydrated a hydrophobic core. Thus, wheat gluten
1.5–2% for bread (5) do not necessarily and more soluble. The salts thus can have has surface hydrophobicity, which pro-
improve loaf volume. Holmes and Ho- pronounced effects on both hydrogen motes protein aggregation through hydro-
seney (9) observed a substantial decrease bonding and on hydrophobic interactions phobic interactions. Bernardin (2) sug-
in volume of loaves at elevated salt levels. between proteins. gested that these hydrophobic interactions
They also observed that salts other than Salt also affects the water phase of the play an important role in the rheological
sodium chloride had a deleterious effect dough system. Increased salt concentra- and baking properties of flours. The fact
on loaf volume (Fig. 2). tion generally increases the ordering of that neutral salts could alter the hydropho-
He et al. (6) studied the effect of differ- water structure. This ordering is highly de- bic interactions between gluten proteins
ent salts on the baking properties of flours pendent on the anion type, with nonchao- has been suggested by a number of work-
that varied widely in baking quality. They tropic ions strongly promoting ordering. ers (1,4,11,19–22, 29).
reported that sodium sulfate greatly im- The increase in ordered water structure al- As shown above, different salts have
proved the rheological properties, loaf vol- lows proteins to interact with each other widely different effects on dough rheolo-
ume, and crumb grain of the poor-quality through hydrophobic interactions (16,28). gy. At first glance it appears that by select-
flour but made the good quality flour too Wheat gluten has been shown to contain ing the right salt one could obtain the rhe-
elastic (bucky) for good breadmaking. The about 35% hydrophobic amino acids (15). ology desired for baking. However, the
improvement of the poor quality flour was This is greater than the 28% that Kinsella effect of various ions on yeast activity and
assumed to be by increasing the hydropho-
bic interactions between the gluten pro-
teins. They also found that the improve-
ment in baking quality of the poor quality
flour by salts was limited. While the im-
provement was substantial, it did not im-
prove the baking properties of the poor
quality flour to the level produced using
good quality flour and sodium chloride.
This suggests that factors other than hydro-
phobic interactions affect the baking prop-
erties of flours.
In addition to sodium chloride there are
other salts that are important in baking, es-
pecially in chemically leavened products
such as cake, biscuits, pancakes, etc. In
chemical leavening reactions, sodium bi-
carbonate is reacted with an acidic salt in
the presence of moisture and heat to form
carbon dioxide as the leavening agent. Wa-
ter and salt are also produced in the reac-
tion. Holmes and Hoseney (9) used a com-
Fig. 1. Mixograms of doughs containing indicated amounts of sodium chloride. From Danno
bination of yeast and chemical leavening to and Hoseney (4).
show that certain ions were detrimental to
loaf volume. Both rheological (mixograph)
and baking studies showed that the effect
of the ions was related to their position in
the anionic lyotropic series (Hofmeister se-
ries). The Hofmeister series ranks various
ions on their ability to precipitate proteins
from solution (8). The series lists both an-
ions and cations in order from most stabi-
lizing (nonchaotropic) to most destabiliz-
ing (chaotropic). The order for anions from
nonchaotropic to chaotropic is SO4 > PO4
> F > Cl > Br > I > NO3 > ClO4 > SCN.
The order for cations is NH4 > Cs > Rb > K
= Na > H > Ca > Mg > Al. The anions have
a much greater effect than do the cations.
Although most agree that the series has its
effect by its action on water, there is still
debate about how it does this (for a discus-
sion of current research on the topic, see
Chemical & Engineering News, Nov. 28,
2007, p. 47). In general terms, the noncha-
otropic salts cause the protein to be less Fig. 2. Baking results of selected ions of the anionic lyotropic series. From Holmes and Hos-
hydrated, more structured, and less soluble. eney (9).

CEREAL FOODS WORLD / 

on human health must be kept in mind as breadmaking properties. Cereal Chem. 20. Preston, K. R. Gel filtration and characteriza-
well as the effect of the various salts on the 64:343-348, 1987. tion of neutral salt extracted wheat gluten pro-
10. Kinsella, J. E. Relationship between structure teins varying in hydrophobic properties. Cere-
taste of the final product.
and functional properties of food proteins. al Chem. 61:76-83, 1984.
Salt contains 39% sodium. Consump- Page 62 in: Food Proteins. P. F. Fox and J. J. 21. Preston, K. R. Effects of neutral salts of the
tion of high levels of sodium has been Gordon, eds. Applied Science Publishers, New lyotropic series on the physical dough proper-
linked to hypertension (high blood pres- York, 1982. ties of a Canadian red spring wheat flour. Ce-
sure). It has been reported that cereal 11. Kinsella, J. E., and Hale, M. L. Hydrophobic real Chem. 66:144-148, 1989.
products contribute about 25% of the so- associations and gluten consistency: Effect of 22. Salovaara, H. Effect of partial sodium chloride
dium intake in Western diets (23). This has anions. J. Agric. Food Chem. 32:1054-1056, replacement by other salts on wheat dough
1984. rheology and breadmaking. Cereal Chem.
spurred interest in reducing the sodium 12. Lang, C. E., Neises, E. K., and Walker, C. E. 59:422-426, 1982.
chloride level or completely or partially Effects of additives on flour-water dough mix- 23. Salovaara, H. Sensory limitations to replace-
replacing sodium chloride in baked prod- ograms. Cereal Chem 69:587-591, 1992. ment of sodium, with potassium and magne-
uct formulations with alternative salts. 13. Maher Galal, A., Varriano-Marston, E., and sium in bread. Cereal Chem. 59:427-430,
Wyatt (30) reports that the salt content of Johnson, J. A. Rheological dough properties as 1982.
white or whole wheat bread could be re- affected by organic acids and salt. Cereal 24. Sanchez, C. R. S., Hoseney, R. C., and Moritz,
Chem. 55:683-691, 1978. G. Brine vs. dry salt in breadmaking. Baker’s
duced by 50% with no change in flavor or
14. Matz, S. A. Water and salt. Pages 123–150 in: Dig. 47(2):23-25,67, 1973.
overall acceptability. Sensory tests showed Bakery Technology and Engineering, third 25. Strong, L. R. The functional properties of salt
that 20% of the sodium chloride could be edition. Van Nostrand Reinhold/AVI, New in bakery products. Baker’s Dig. 43(1):55-57,
replaced with potassium chloride or 10% York, 1992. 1969.
of the sodium chloride could be replaced 15. McDonald, C. E., and Gilles, K. A. Amino 26. Takano, H., and Kondou, R. Sodium gluconate
with magnesium chloride or magnesium acid composition of wheat related to quality. and potassium gluconate as substitute for so-
Baker’s Dig. 41(1):45-49,73, 1967. dium chloride in breadmaking. Food Sci.
acetate without causing a deleterious effect
16. Melander, W., and Horvath, C. Salt effects on Technol. Res. 8:75-79, 2002.
on bread flavor (23). Takano et al. (26) sug- hydrophobic interactions in precipitation and 27. Tanaka, K., Furukawa, K., and Matsumoto, H.
gests that sodium chloride in bread can be chromatography of proteins: An interpretation The effect of acid and salt on the farinogram
completely replaced with potassium gluco- of the lyotropic series. Arch. Biochem. Bio- and extensigram of dough. Cereal Chem.
nate with no effect on loaf volume or over- phys. 183:200-215, 1977. 44:675-680, 1967.
all desirability. 17. Moore, C. L., and Herman, R. S. The effect of 28. Von Hippel, P. H., and Schleich, T. The effects
Potassium chloride is a widely used salt certain ingredients and variations in manipula- of neutral salts on the structure and conforma-
tions on the farinograph curve. Cereal Chem. tional stability of macromolecules in solution.
substitute. It has been shown to have an 19:568-587, 1942. Page 417 in: Structure and Stability of Bio-
effect in baking similar to sodium chloride 18. Peppler, H. J. Yeast. Page 64 in: Bakery Tech- logical Macromolecules. S. N. Timasheff and
except that at high levels it imparts an nology and Engineering. S. Matz, ed. AVI G. D. Forman, eds. Marcel Dekker, New York,
undesirable off flavor often described as Publishing, Westport, CT, 1960. 1969.
metallic, bitter, or chemical in nature (22). 19. Preston, K. R. Effects of neutral salts upon 29. Wherli, H. P., and Pomeranz, Y. The role of
Mixtures of 50% sodium chloride and wheat gluten protein properties. I. Relation- chemical bonds in dough. Baker’s Dig.
ship between the hydrophobic properties of 43(6):22-26, 1969.
50% potassium chloride have frequently
gluten proteins and their extractability and tur- 30. Wyatt, J. C. Acceptability of reduced sodium
been used with fair results in reduced-so- bidity in neutral salts. Cereal Chem. 58:317- in breads, cottage cheese, and pickles. J. Food
dium products (14). 324, 1981. Sci. 48:1300-1302, 1983.

References
1. Bennett, R., and Ewart, J. A. The effect of cer-
tain salts on doughs. J. Sci. Food Agric.
16:199-205, 1965. Rebecca A. Miller received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees
2. Bernardin, J. E. Gluten proteins interaction in grain science from Kansas State University (KSU). She is
with small molecules and ions—The control currently the director of the KSU Wheat Quality Lab. Prior to
of flour properties. Baker’s Dig. 52(4):20-23, joining KSU, she worked at R&R Research Services, Inc.,
1978. conducting contract research and teaching short courses in
3. Bernardin, J. E., and Kasarda, D. D. The mi- the United States and abroad for AACC International, AIB,
crostructure of wheat protein fibrils. Cereal and in-house for various companies. She was a recipient of
Chem. 50:735-745, 1973. the Rheology Division Young Scientist Award. She has served
4. Danno, G., and Hoseney, R. C. Effect of so- as secretary, vice chair, and chair of the Rheology Division.
dium chloride and sodium dodecyl sulfate on Rebecca is currently starting her third three-year term as an
mixograph properties. Cereal Chem. 59:202- associate editor for Cereal Chemistry. She can be reached at
204, 1982. beckym@ksu.edu.
5. Finney, K. F. An optimized, straight-dough,
bread-making method after 44 years. Cereal R. Carl Hoseney is the president of R&R Research Services,
Chem. 61:20-27, 1984. Inc., an independent consulting firm located in Manhattan,
6. He, H., Roach, R. R., and Hoseney, R. C. Ef- KS. He is also the editor-in-chief of Cereal Chemistry. He
fect of nonchaotropic salts on flour bread- received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Kansas State
making properties. Cereal Chem. 69:366-371, University (KSU). He was a research chemist for the USDA
1992. for 15 years and a professor of grain science at KSU for 25
7. Hlynka, I. Influence of temperature, speed of years. He has published more that 340 papers and holds 15
mixing, and salt on some rheological proper- patents. He can be reached at r_and_r@kansas.net.
ties of dough in the farinograph. Cereal Chem.
39:286-303, 1962.
8. Hofmeister, F. Arch. Exp. Pathol. Pharmacol.
24:247-260, 1888. (Original not seen)
9. Holmes, J. T., and Hoseney, R. C. Chemical
leavening: Effect of pH and certain ions on

 / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2008, VOL. 53, NO. 1