What Happens When You Put Salt In Your Dessert

​Today I’m getting technical with pastry. As part of my program at Ferrandi we have technology class every day where we discuss the scientific side of pastry and desserts. We deconstruct our recipes, learn why each ingredient is important and what they contribute to the final dessert, the processes and techniques used in recipes, and ask probably a million questions to our expert chefs. Sometimes we spend an entire two-hour class just talking about one ingredient!
 
So, let’s talk about salt! Did you ever notice that almost all desserts have salt in them? Recipes and packages don’t really explain the purpose of salt in dessert but it is one of the most important ingredients in baking because of the following reasons:

Salt contributes to developing the flavor
You’ve probably heard this or something similar before. Salt helps to offset the sweetness of sugar (one of the main ingredients in dessert). Just a small quantity of salt can help enhance the flavor of other ingredients to help make their flavors more pronounced.
Have you ever seen someone eat feta cheese and watermelon? My grandma does and I always thought it was gross. But the saltiness from the feta cheese helps enhance the natural flavor of the sweet watermelon giving it a more complex taste.
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Salt improves textural qualities, increases the elasticity of gluten and the firmness of dough.
 
The first thing I think of when someone says dessert is cake, then chocolate, then sweet fruit. But dough? What does dough have to do with dessert?! A lot actually! Dough is most commonly referred to when talking about bread but in fact it also refers to pie doughs, sweet bread doughs, etc. Salt is especially important in doughs because it improves the textural qualities, increases the elasticity of gluten and firmness of the dough.
One of my favorite rainy day treats is a fresh hot cinnamon roll! The beautifully soft texture and ability for the dough to be rolled wouldn’t be the same without salt! 

Salt regulates the activity of yeast cells to help stabilize fermentation
 
Since we’re talking about cinnamon rolls, a yeast raised dough, it’s perfect to talk about how salt regulates the fermentation process. Yeast is what makes most doughs rise and it is quite a tricky ingredient to work with if you’re inexperienced. I won’t go into too much detail because this is about salt, not yeast, but put simply salt hinders the ability for yeast to grow while sugar feeds it. In the cinnamon roll dough you mix yeast with sugar to help in grow (that’s why they get nice and fluffy)! You add salt in the dough to keep the yeast from growing way too much and developing a weird taste in your dough. I hope that makes sense! (Let me know if it doesn’t; I’d be happy to explain more.)
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Salt plays a role in the coloration of baked goods
 
Do you ever wonder how an almost white pie dough can color to such a beautiful brown crust of an apple pie? Because ovens don’t bake items with direct heat, salt is important to help color your baked goods.
 
Salt is hygroscopic (it attracts water)
Salt is also hygroscopic meaning simply that it attracts water from the air. This is especially important in contributing to the softness of doughs and crusts in humid conditions. In dry conditions salt helps set water.
 
Salt helps preserve your delicious treats
The fact that salt is used as a natural preservative is probably the most widely known. As our ancestors discovered, salt helps preserve things so that we can enjoy them for longer periods of time. However, compared to our ancestors, we don’t use nearly as much salt as they did because we have cool and new innovative technology developed in the mid 1700’s called refrigeration. Now, a little bit of salt is added to preserve the textural quality of baked goods over time.

So there you have it, six scientific reasons that salt is in your dessert! I hope now you have a better understanding of why salt is so essential in desserts and pastry to help develop the taste, texture and preserve your sweets naturally! Next time you make a dessert don’t forget to add the salt!

Are you interested in learning about where salt comes from? Comment below!