# Why do most flour based recipes call for a "pinch of salt"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-flour-based-recipes-call-for-a-pinch-of-salt/510651>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 18, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-flour-based-recipes-call-for-a-pinch-of-salt/510651 "2009-09-18T23:11:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-flour-based-recipes-call-for-a-pinch-of-salt/510651/21 "2009-09-20T14:08:20Z")

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> [@Turek](#):
>
> I’ve heard great things about _BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking with Over 200 Magnificent Recipes_ by Shirley Corriher (frequent contributor to **Good Eats**.)

> [@aruvqan](#):
>
> There is one, not sure if my googlefu is up to it …  
> [bingo](http://books.google.com/books?id=iX05JaZXRz0C&pg=PA2&lpg=PA2&dq=whys+about+cooking&source=bl&ots=G5qUTlcgvT&sig=Wt62KuFfTo-aZG416VvRqJrCRUo&hl=en&ei=yX21SrumKIyy8Qakj6yTDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8#v=onepage&q=whys%20about%20cooking&f=false)

> [@Ferret\_Herder](#):
>
> Besides the other suggestions, the books “I’m Just Here for the Food” and “I’m Just Here for More Food” by Alton Brown are very readable “chemistry of food”-type primers.

Thanks for the suggestions. More books to add to the pile!

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-most-flour-based-recipes-call-for-a-pinch-of-salt/510651/22 "2009-09-20T19:24:29Z")

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> [@TheFifthYear](#):
>
> Yes, it’s a matter of flavor–you may have conditioned yourself to tolerate saltless baked goods, but salt is fundamental to a bread that tastes good. You can no more make a good loaf of bread without salt than you can without flour, water, or yeast (yeah, yeah, unleavened breads).

All sweeping generalisations are wrong - You _can_ make a good loaf without salt, because some types of bread are always made without it - it’s a specification of the recipe and tradition in these cases and to make it with salt would be to make it _wrong_.

But in general, you’re right - salt is a flavour enhancer and is an important, necessary ingredient in most breads.

My books also say it helps to prevent the loaf going prematurely stale - not sure if that’s supported by evidence or just tradition.

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