Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Need some experienced know-how re: few baking ?'s

Hi - for your questions:

1. Salt - did a quick search and found this:

The Role of Salt
The salt used in baking has the chemical formulation NaCl (sodium chloride). Salt adds flavor of its own, and potentiates the flavor of other ingredients. Salt also slows down all the chemical reactions that are happening in the dough, helping to control fermentation activity to a steadier level. This will produce more consistent flavor and texture in the product. Salt also makes the dough a little stronger and tighter.

Salt's Effects on Shelf Life
Salt impacts the shelf life of baked goods, but its effects depend on weather conditions. Salt is hydroscopic, which means it absorbs water. In dry climates, the salt helps hold water in the pastry longer, inhibiting staling, and thus extending the product's shelf life.

I would add that when I've baked without salt, I can really taste the difference. This is true even in sweet cakes - it's not that the result is "saltier", it's that the salt seems to kick up the other flavors, and when it's omitted, you really notice that something is missing, even if you can't identify what, exactly, that something is.

2. Do a board search for this - TessLouise just posted a bunch of suggestions for making substitutes. This was actually just in the past week or so, so you might just scroll down through the posts.

3. The germ is the very interior of the whole wheat berry. It is insoluble fiber, like the bran (which is the very exterior), but it seems to be more tolerable for most folks. It's highly nutritious. You can likely add a small handful of wheat germ to something like cream of rice cereal and tolerate it just fine, or use a small amount (like 1/4 cup) in a baked loaf of zucchini or pumpkin bread or some such.

- Heather

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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!

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