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

[jabiru]

@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

@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!

[Mangetout]

@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.