At first I thought, salt is salt, right? It comes from the ground or sea and has been there forever, and only enhances the flavors of whatever we add it to. But what if it was more than that? What if the salt we use isn't just salt? Recently I wondered these questions and found out some surprising information.
I have always known not to use iodized salt in my breads and pastries because it can kill the yeasts, whether natural of processed. Iodine is a mineral we need, but doesn't help the fermenting process at all. Luckily we can get it from other things such as dairy, eggs, and seafood. But since salt comes from the ground or sea, shouldn't it contain minerals as well? Do they survive the refining and processing? The answer is not really. When salt is processed they add chlorine or sulfuric acid which basically strips all the natural minerals away. Plus they add anti-caking agents to extend the shelf life. One that I have seen a lot is yellow prussiate of soda. Which in fact is cyanide, thats right cyanide. Now the FDA states that its not harmful enough to hurt us, but I'd rather not take cyanide everyday with everything I eat. There are many other anti-caking agents used that I'm sure are not what we want to eat with our healthy sourdough loaves. At least thats my feeling.
Once I found this information I instantly threw away the 50 pound bag of salt I just purchased and looked for a solution. Luckily there are many companies who feel the same way and provide products that are safe for us to consume. All you have to do is read the label and it will tell you. I switched 100% over to a natural unrefined and unprocessed sea salt from the Sea of Cortez where salt has been harvested fro generations. It contains only salt, which contains minerals such as magnesium, potassium, iron, and calcium. I can honestly say that using a higher quality salt made the breads and pastries taste better. Whether or not it was actually better, or just knowing I wasn't eating cyanide anymore, I'm not sure. But either way, it's better.
The reason I make sourdough and I'm guessing for a lot of you, the reason you purchase and eat our sourdough is for the health benefits and digestibility. I mean it only contains 3 ingredients, right? So we should be using the best we can find.