Reducing salt in bread without sacrificing taste

Date:
September 28, 2021
Source:
University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and
Environmental Sciences
Summary:
Most people in the U.S. consume too much salt; adult Americans
typically eat twice the daily amount recommended by dietary
guidelines. Bread may not seem like an obvious culprit; however,
due to high consumption and relatively high salt content, baked
goods are a major source of sodium in the diet. A new study from
the explores ways to reduce sodium in bread without sacrificing
taste and leavening ability.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Most people in the U.S. consume too much salt; adult Americans typically
eat twice the daily amount recommended by dietary guidelines. Bread may
not seem like an obvious culprit; however, due to high consumption and relatively high salt content, baked goods are a major source of sodium
in the diet. A new study from the University of Illinois explores ways
to reduce sodium in bread without sacrificing taste and leavening ability.


========================================================================== "Bread is one of the staple foods in a lot of people's diets, and people generally don't stick to just one serving of bread," says Aubrey Dunteman, graduate student in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
at U of I, and lead author on the paper.

"About 70% of sodium in the U.S. food supply comes from packaged and
processed foods. And the top source is actually baked goods, so reducing
salt in that particular category would help to reduce sodium consumption tremendously," adds study co-author Soo-Yeun Lee, professor of food
science at U of I.

We can't completely eliminate salt from our diet, but we can reduce it
to a healthier level.

"Salt is an essential nutrient, and this is why we crave it. However,
we consume more than we should, just like sugar and fat. Salt is related
with hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, but it's the amount
that is the problem, not the salt itself," Lee notes.

Salt is also an essential ingredient in bread making; it contributes to
the structure and flavor of the bread, and is necessary for the yeast
to work properly.



========================================================================== Dunteman and Lee conducted an extensive review of academic literature
on sodium reduction in bread. They identified four main categories:
Salt reduction without any further mitigation, physical modification,
sodium replacements, and flavor enhancers. They discuss each of these
methods in their paper, published in the International Journal of Food
Science and Technology.

"The most basic method is just reducing the amount of salt in the
product," Dunteman says. "That can be good to a point, depending on the original level of salt and equivalent in the recipe. There's always
going to be a minimum amount of salt you need just to have the bread
function and the yeast do its job. So it's a limited method, but it can
help to reduce high levels of sodium intake." Another method is physical modification, which involves uneven distribution of salt in the product.

"Sensory adaptation occurs when you have constant stimulus. If the salt
is evenly distributed in a slice of bread, as you take more bites, it's
going to taste less salty, because you're already adapted to the first
few bites. But if you have different distribution of salt, alternating
between densely and lightly salted layers, people will perceive it as
more salty. So you can obtain the same taste effect with less salt,"
Lee explains.

A third method involves replacement of sodium with other substances, such
as magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, or potassium chloride. "This
is one of the most commonly used methods in industry, but it can only
be used up to a certain point, before you get a bit of a metallic taste
from these compounds," Dunteman points out.



==========================================================================
The fourth method involves flavor modification with taste enhancers such
as herbs and spices, or even monosodium glutamate (MSG). The researchers
note multi-grain bread also allows for more salt reduction than white
bread, because it has more flavor on its own.

Dunteman and Lee conclude the best approach to sodium reduction in bread
will be a combination of methods.

"One of the four categories, salt reduction, is technically involved
in all of them," Dunteman notes. "Another category, salt replacement,
is already heavily studied. We recommend more research into physical modification methods, as well as flavor enhancement types, and how
to combine each of these methods with salt reduction." Finally, the researchers have some advice for home bakers looking to reduce sodium
in their creations.

"If you're interested in using less salt in your home-baked bread,
you could try to reduce the amount to 50%, if you're using standard
recipes that are widely available," Lee says. "You'd be surprised that
the dough would still rise, though the bread would taste a little
different. You can also use flavor enhancers to provide the salty,
savory, satiating sensation you lose when you reduce the salt. But
that wouldn't help with the rise, so you cannot remove salt 100%." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Illinois_College_of_Agricultural,_Consumer and_Environmental_Sciences. Original written by Marianne Stein. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Aubrey Dunteman, Ying Yang, Elle McKenzie, Youngsoo Lee,
Soo‐Yeun
Lee. Sodium reduction technologies applied to bread products
and their impact on sensory properties: a review. International
Journal of Food Science & Technology, 2021; 56 (9): 4396 DOI:
10.1111/ijfs.15231 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210928171904.htm

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