I forgot the salt in the chocolate cake!

Shendellah

Fri, Nov 06 2009, 11:36 am

louche wrote:

Shendellah wrote:

I'm so glad that I came across this thread...last night I forgot to put salt in my Challah! (I'm a novice Challah baker) I was really worried especially since I made 2 Challahs for my mom to bring to NY for my grandfather's birthday and 4 Challahs for my in laws and a bunch of pastrys. I feel a lot better knowing that it isnt the end of the world without salt!!!

I used to make challah w/o salt b/c that's how I bake, and it was fine. Then I learned that salt controls the rising, so I started adding it. Then one time I forgot the salt, and wow, I could really tell the diff. It's all a matter of what you're used to. Get used to it plain, it tastes great and with salt tastes too salty. Get used to it with salt, and plain is too bland

Do you dissolve the yeast with salt in warm water... I found a few recipes that do and a few recipes that dont?!?

louche

Fri, Nov 06 2009, 11:52 am

Oh, golly, no!!! The salt should never come into direct contact with the yeast--it'll kill it. You dissolve the yeast in warm water with SUGAR to give it some food to grow on. This is called "proofing" the yeast to see if it's still alive. It's a brief extra step that ensures you will never mix up a batch of dough only to discover that the yeast was no longer active. I am so paranoid about salt and yeast getting together that I add the salt after I've mixed in the other ingredients and about half the flour, when the texture is like cake batter. I sprinkle the salt all over the surface as opposed to dumping it in a blob, so that there is never a huge concentration of salt in any one spot. That's probably overdoing it, but if you've ever had the heartbreak of baking a gorgeous challah that was deader than a used match and denser than a black hole, you'd do the same.

Some recipes will tell you to measure out the dry ingr., make a well in the middle and pour in the wet ingredients. Don't. Proof the yeast first, add the wet ingredients, mix, then add flour a little at a time and mix until you get a dough that you can handle but isn't completely dry. It should be just a wee bit tacky, like a post-it note. You may not need to use all the flour called for in the recipe. Too much flour makes for a heavy dough, so the less flour, the better.

Shendellah

Fri, Nov 06 2009, 12:05 pm

Thank you!!! That's right....I think I confused sugar with salt. I put yeast in warm water and nothing happened. As soon as I put sugar in it, the yeast turned "alive"! Thank you for the tips!!!! I made Challah once with a friend and I've been practicing ever since to make it as good as when we did it together!!!

louche

Fri, Nov 06 2009, 12:20 pm

Shendellah wrote:

Thank you!!! That's right....I think I confused sugar with salt.

haven't we all at one time or another!

Shendellah wrote:

I made Challah once with a friend and I've been practicing ever since to make it as good as when we did it together!!!

Practice makes perfect. I've been making my own challah for years, and I'm still learning!

shopaholic

Fri, Nov 06 2009, 1:27 pm

Oh please...

Quote:

I bake often and never put the salt in. I have yet to hear a complaint. Don't worry about it.

Exactly what I was gonna say!! Yes, salt enhances the flavors, but I promise the cake will be fine. If you compare 2 of the same recipe - 1 with salt & 1 without, you may notice, but alone...