Does Mixing Salt & Yeast Have a Negative Effect on Fermentation?

[@ChainBaker]

📖 Read more in the link below the video ⤴ 🌾 If you would like to support my work click here ⤵ www.ko-fi.com/chainbaker 🔪 Find all the things I use here ⤵ 🇺🇸 www.amazon.com/shop/ChainBaker 🇬🇧 www.amazon.co.uk/shop/ChainBaker 🍞 Share your bread pictures here ⤵ www.flickr.com/groups/chainbaker/

[@Foodgeek]

It seems many of us baking KZbinrs have dispelled this myth separately many times, but the myth seems to live on :) BakeWithJack even poured salt directly onto fresh yeast. No salt doesn't kill yeast. Nothing really kills yeast except heat :)

[@ChainBaker]

Some myths just won't die 😄 It's fun to debunk them though! Nice to see you here btw. I watched your videos way before I decided to start my channel. Cheers!

[@AIdle42]

We dont see much different in a small sample, but in mass production we may find the different.

[@ChainBaker]

Perhaps. But there is also the fact that a larger amount of dough ferments faster, so I would think that it should affect it even less 🤔

[@Foodgeek]

@@ChainBaker I agree. I'd love to see someone do a large scale experiment so we could confirm it :)

[@mystique5113]

Please does oil kill yeast?

[@mandiigraham1596]

The most practical no nonsense baking channel on you tube.

[@deenyc1049]

This is like the mythbusters of baking. Recipes are great, education is better.

[@PeteFindsObscureStuff]

I always mix yeast and salt directly into water before adding the flour. A number of FB baking groups I am a member of seem to lose their minds when I mention it with the old "salt kills yeast" nonsense. Now you've proved it. I'll include a link to this video in future. Cheers

[@fatima69612]

So you mean we can add slat and yeast together to knead dough?

[@mazadan]

Do you use fresh or dried. Because i have found in my 50 plus years of baking salt will rupture the cells of fresh yeast

[@fatima69612]

@@mazadan I use instead yeast to make (Asian's roti)

[@fatima69612]

I'm a simple house wife I have a question What should be the range of stove flame ( low, medium, medium high or high ) for cooking indian fermented bread? Please guide

[@patrikSMD]

It‘s always good to get rid of those old traditions or myths by showing the doubters one simple solution: think before you just repeat anything you have been told! Keep on baking 🍞👍🏼😉

[@ambrosewetherbee8301]

It's funny how despite numerous studies dating back over a decade ago confirming that salt has negligible impact on yeast activity that people still believe that "salt kills yeast". It's like when people say that searing meat "seals in juices". Salt's impact on gluten formation rather than yeast activity should be what bakers are concerned with.

[@peterweeds4682]

Yes, or that MSG is bad for you.

[@peterweeds4682]

Hmmm. Wonder what impact MSG would have on bread instead of salt....

[@ambrosewetherbee8301]

@@peterweeds4682 I haven't come across any reliable testing of replacing salt with MSG in dough but I suspect that without chloride, which is the main reason for salt's affect on gluten development in dough, the dough would be more slack. Also, MSG lacks salt's hygroscopic property so the hydration of the dough would be affected as well. Edit: Additionally, a dough with salt replaced by MSG would ferment more rapidly.

[@ryanbarnard934]

I feel like these experiments are 300-3000 years overdue...kudos man. Great channel

[@jimipage69]

I have to admit I was surprised at the 5min one. I was sure it wouldn’t rise as fast. You’ve convinced me. I won’t be waiting to add the salt anymore. I always found it really annoying to do but thought it was helping haha. Thanks for this video.

[@shoogeveen]

I'm happy you clarified that you played the timelapse in reverse, I thought the dough was being really weird :))))))

[@ChainBaker]

😄

[@deborahwybou4285]

Having baked bread for many many years including sourdough I was quite taken aback about all the hype on salt destroying yeast and/or sourdough. I never had a problem. Thank you for clearly clarifying it.

[@acmaras]

Thank you, teacher! You answered one of my nagging questions. My kitchen here in Joliet, IL tends to be cold so I've been proofing my yeast every time and worrying about when to mix in the salt. You've again made my baking easier.

[@pkguy3]

Same here. What I do is just turn the oven on for about 1 minute or so and shut it off then place my dough in there to rise

[@giantpunda2911]

This highlights the problem with a lot of culinary traditions - few people ever question whether what seems to be "common knowledge" is just because some head chef said so and you just blindly followed or because it's actually true. Same reason why people get laughed at nowadays when they say to sear the steak to seal in the juices or don't let water touch mushrooms and waste time brushing off the dirt.

[@philip6502]

Nicely done, Charlie. Doing the second experiment really nailed it. And... I'm glad you mentioned the Flickr group. 💯

[@mikey19608]

Martin from King Arthur baking says it's a myth, I believed him and now you just proved it. As always, excellent presentation and experiment to add to your library.

[@JEEROFUKU]

Being the «mixing salt and yeast together in water, before adding the flour» bloke myself, I’m truly nope that with your clear and unbiased tests you’ll finally put the fat dot at the end of any dispute about this particular matter^^Thank you very much for your time, good sir🤝ATB🙏🏻🍀🌱🥖🍞

[@PoopBoss]

Man, thank you so much for your consistency and controlled test groups, this is something I’d expect to search online and find no real results! Keep up the great work!

[@torsteinv34]

Thank you for this. There's so much repeated misinformation out there on blogs, just repeating the same myths. Thank you for busting this one!

[@50sKid]

I think the origin of this myth has mainly to do with fresh cake yeast, which you didn't use in this video. Salt draws moisture away from things and that's bad with regard to fresh yeast so people in the distant past have always said not to add the salt right on top of the broken up cake yeast but instead to dissolve the cake yeast in the water first and then add the salt, thus there is no chance of dehydrating it. For dry yeasts it makes absolutely no difference because... they're dry. There is no water to wick away.

[@ChainBaker]

Could be. Although I have never run into problems when using fresh yeast in the same way either. Perhaps another side by side test is in order :)

[@jpaxonreyes]

Did you see Bake With Jack's video? He used fresh yeast. Same conclusion as this video.

[@mystique5113]

I so love your videos. They make things so simple and very effectively shutdown arguments. Well done.

[@mysticshadow425]

Thank you answering this controversial topic. I am about to begin my journey into the pizza making art and this topic keeps coming up, it had me extremely confused to what the real world application was. I am glad you answered it for us with 🙏🏼👨🏻‍🍳

[@meri9943]

This video made me smile as it reminded me of when I baked as a kid and the fresh yeast I used to dissolve in warm milk back then would so often rise over the brim of the pot, making a mess on the counter ... :)

[@allborosnyc4544]

Nice detailed video. I mix all dry ingredients (flour, salt, yeast, sugar) together then add water and mix. It comes out beautiful!!

[@Y.o.T.]

This is the correct answer

[@Nobody4rpresident]

EXCELLENT VIDEO!! I have been making bagels since 2015 for family and friends. I use instant yeast, but was convinced I had to dry mix the yeast into the hi gluten flour (along with diastatic malt powder) BEFORE the salt. I was phobic about keeping the salt separate, adding it slowly while adding water to the mixer being certain that the salt would effect the fermentation if it came in direct contact with yeast. Where I heard this I can’t tell you. I carried this habit over to the no knead bread recipe I use. Thanks for removing one less step, and superstition, from my baking experience.

[@getgeometry8715]

Every time I think of a whether something is true for baking and I search it up your videos come up. Always very informative and well put together. Thank You!

[@ChainBaker]

Cheers 😎

[@razzberrylogic]

Spoiler Alert! If you have been watching any of the 200+ other videos on this channel, you knew what the result would be. Great video as usual!

[@hansenmarc]

I love learning from sourdough experiments, especially when they dispel common myths. Thank you for sharing your results!

[@akeats4]

Absolutely fascinating. The lengths i have gone to to protect the yeast from the salt... thanks for these experiments!!

[@blaser80]

I've always put the salt and yeast in together, even when using less yeast when trying out the no knead method. Never had an issue with fermentation. I would guess you'd need excessive amounts of salt to hinder the yeast from doing its job, but who wants excessively salty bread?

[@harambo88]

ppl that like beer.

[@ChainBaker]

😄👍

[@rb-ex]

nice curiousity. there are even a lot of professional bakers and pizza makers who worry about salt killing their yeast, and as you demonstrate, it's based on imagination. my preference is to add yeast and salt to flour before mixing it with water, not because i think it's better than adding it to the water first, it's just the way i happen to do it. when i use commercial yeast i am usually using a tiny bit looking for long, somewhat cool fermentation to allow bacteria and enzymes to develop, but even when i make a fast rising bread like japanese milk bread, i doubt it matters whether you mix yeast/salt with water or with flour first

[@AndreVandal]

I have always read that the salt must come later but I was always too lazy and just added everything together. Nice to know my laziness never was bothering my bead making :)

[@gustavorlore]

There is nothing like hard core, actual, seen it, felt it, taste it experience. Thank you

[@ruthdaniel1501]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I always added my salt last or even during the kneading process BUT at least twice I forgot the salt entirely. Trust me ... Salt free bread is horrible. (You'd think I'd never make the same mistake twice!) Now, salt goes in at the same time as everything else. Shalom!

[@johnminarik3442]

Wow. I normally proof my yeast in liquid (I sometimes use pickle juice and a caraway "tea" as some do not like seeds) with whatever sweetener I am using. I add salt to the flour before mixing. It never occurred to me to mix salt with yeast - just doesn't really make things any more convenient. Great video!

[@miwiarts]

I just found this channel, and I am instantly in love.

[@ChainBaker]

🤩

[@chauvoduy9350]

I often mix the yeast, sugar, salt, milk powder, baking powder, amoni bicarbonade... into water to make sure all dissolved, then i put flour. No problem. Salt and sugar just slow down the fermentation a little bit, compare with no sugar and salt dough

[@peterweeds4682]

Myth buster extraordinaire. Once again, you are a great Baker and teacher. Keep it up!

[@jbz9547]

I use instant yeast, and just put yeast and slat opposite sides of the bowl. Thanks for your experiments. Thought provoking yet logic.

[@tjdwnd9529]

Thanks for your nice video ! I think proper osmotic pressure is the key in this experiment. Proper density of salt causes no harm for yeast to activate. For the first and the second case, salt was exposed to relatively high amount of water. The third case, however, salt was exposed to very limited amount of water because it was already spent to generate gluten and absorbed by flour starch. So in third case, relatively more yeasts must have encountered improperly high or low density salted water. That's why, I think, the third one showed the worst result. For my opinion, dissolving salt before mixing yeast seems the best.

[@wolfgangdallmann943]

Thank you for clarifying this once and for all.

[@alainduchesneau4265]

Always excelent information and pertinent. Thanks

[@Mysspelled]

I always mix my dry ingredients together; Flour, sugar, salt, etc and mix my yeast with the water. I've never really give much concern to when and where the salt was added. I have however been told to add a portion of the sugar to the yeast mixer to help activate it. I'd be curious if that actually has any effect of the fermentation.

[@ChainBaker]

Sugar slows down fermentation too 👍

[@TwilightStorm]

Perfect timing on this video. I forgot salt and double mixed. I was wondering why the first rise was so disappointing. 👍

[@markjarrett9400]

I have learned heaps by watching your comparison videos. There are lots of bread making myths. I wonder if it relates to 'its always been done this way' or I was taught this way so it must be the only way or I am afraid of experimentation or if it works why try another way. I like the myth about dissolving dry yeast and letting it stand for 10 minutes otherwise it wont work. I can understand the one about making a well in the centre of the flour and adding the liquid in the well. I would do this if I made my bread on top of the counter and not have a bowl. During lockdown I could not get any yeast in the shops. A friend who gave up making bread making a while ago gave me some dried yeast. The dried yeast has passed its best before date by about 18 months. It worked just as well, maybe it took a bit longer to get started, maybe not. I did not think about the time it took to ferment. The end result was just the same. Now there is a long term experiment.

[@flickeringcandle]

Thank you! i’m in Kansas and I accidentally included the salt with the yeast in my poolish this morning! So, i was worried and found your video, I’m relieved now. In the United States, Nutella is sold in bad plastic containers. I would buy Nutella just to get those great little jars if I could here.

[@nopenope1]

for bread I'm usually at 2%, for my pizza dough it's usually 3% though. I always mix it in together, way to much work mixing the salt afterwards... For Bread I did switched to my own sourdough starter (the only good thing from the pandemic in 2020, finally did it) only for pizza dough I use yeast, easier to predict the results and stretching the dough ^^

[@niko1even]

Excellent video. I would just like to say thank you. After watching your channel, I was able to put together a recipe based off baker's percentage and it turned out beautifully. It was the first time I made a good loaf of brioche bread, and I can't be any more thankful.

[@ChainBaker]

That is awesome! I'm glad you found it useful :)

[@sheilam4964]

👍👍👍👍👍 I've done this comparison, too, and found the same results. I'm so glad to see someone else do this too and find the same results. I've never questioned your method of adding the salt in with the yeast because I already knew the answer. By the way does any of the non-believers ever question this in the recipes that use active yeast just stirred in with the rest of the ingredients (including THE SALT) when making bread? If salt retarded the rise or even killed the yeast, wouldn't it happen in these recipes? Sooooo funny. 😁

[@emmanueld1128]

What a great video. I too mix salt and yeast together directly in water and have never had an issue. I have a giggle everytime I see a video mentioning that salt will kill the yeast. A lot of misconceptions out there. Good on you for the verification. Another myth I believe is chlorine from tap water will kill the yeast. I use tap water without fail, although some areas of the world may have unclean tap water, Sydney Australia is fine.

[@georgepagakis9854]

I don't know how I missed this one but happy I saw it today :) There is a pizza guy that says when you put the salt in the beginning you get a dough that is easier to stretch and is softer and when you add it in the end as your 3rd dough its suppose to be crispier but harder to stretch. I think he is BS! Since salt also slows down the rise as we have seen in other videos of yours, if one is doing long fridge fermentation then its a good idea to drop the salt in from the beginning so it wont over ferment while mixing and in the fridge. Nice one m8:)

[@1stinfamous]

For me this little experience proves every manner is ✅

[@freetiti3474]

Great vids ! 👏 You are doing all the experiments I never found time/motivation to do. I am a scientist and I like how you test things to find what is true. Please continue.😊

[@CuratorClips]

Hi Charlie, thanks for sharing another great video. I have a suggestion which you can do an experiment with or something like that, I got really curious about yogurt in breadbaking and it's effects recently, but I didn't find something like your videos on the topic.

[@ChainBaker]

I will investigate some day for sure. My milk video will be the next best thing - kzbin.info/www/bejne/gaacqHSYgcd8b6M :)

[@Happy1heart48]

I’m new to your channel and I’ve watched quite a few today and I must admit, I had that question running through my mind every time! With that being said, I became more convinced that old theory can’t be true. Now that I’ve seen THIS video(and THANK YOU VERY MUCH), I’m totally convinced! 👍🏼👍🏼💖

[@ChainBaker]

Cheers ;)

[@WarrenWarVictoria]

Thank you I always learn so much from your channel.

[@joannestretch]

great way to show it doesnt affect the yeast, ty vm

[@michaelprozonic]

thank you for clearing this up for me. I alway divided my water in half and put yeast in one and salt in the other. this saves me a step

[@Quibus777]

Cool! very nice! For most bread I tend to add salt with last flour, but that is so that the my hobby of getting the most bubbles out of the least amount of yeast makes me do water yeast first, then gradually adding flour, first whisking as much O2 into the mix till about 100% hydration then switch to spatula. (doing 10 to 14 full loafes of bread from 1 baggie (6gr) of yeast now

[@marjamerryflower]

That is incredible. We were told to use 11 gram packet of yeast for 500 grams of flour!

[@Quibus777]

@@marjamerryflower yeah the more you whisk the more yeast will grow, i learned that when i was brewing beer and we used to multiply yeast from good Belgian beers to use. At that time i used a complicated system with 2 vessels and a magnet stirrer. 1 vessel with the yeast to be used on top of a magnet stirrer for the beer, a secondary with alcohol, both with stainless steel atachmentsto make the bubbles of air. So the pump would pump regular air through the alcohol, sterilising it, then it would be pushed through the erlemeijer on the magnet stirrer that would stirr it all constantly, so the yeat was in an environment of high O2 and nutrition (malts similar to the beer i wanted to brew with it.) one bottle of beer gave more then enough yeast to make nice beer. Of course this is al way overkill for bread, we kill the yeast when we bake, for wine/beer making its important to kep de baddies out :) so whisking it, adds O2 and your yeast will grow. My normal way of maing bread is starting a dayahead, with all th water, a little yeast and then slowly adding flour while whisking as muvh O2 in it as posssible, incremental adding 50gr of flour. its doyble win, its cheaper, its more flavorful, it just takes a little more time for the whisking. And if you got bad or poorly performing yeast you got it covered before mixing all the rest so the chtances of getting it wrong as dimishied a lot, maybe triple win :)

[@chopsddy3]

Well, that’s finally settled. Short and sweet. Best bread baking vids on YT. Thanks. 🕊👍🕊 I’m headed to your Amazon site right now.✌️😁

[@ChainBaker]

;D

[@artycrafty9209]

I just love old tales to be debunked, its a very brave thing to do and this should now re write the bread making books, well done and thank you. Ramon.

[@edsoncechinel7724]

I love your videos, man. They are just perfect and so informative. Your working place and method is clean and neat, i found everything so aesthetically in place, there is one thing i think could be better: your bracelet. I mean, is your style, and I'm not questioning it. it just makes me very uncomfortble to see it there, like everytime i feel as its going to cling to the dough, you know?

[@ChainBaker]

Thank you :) I get what you mean. But since I'm right handed I rarely go that deep into the dough with the left hand. The bracelet never touches the dough. If it did, then I would certainly not wear it since that would just be a pain in the ass 😄

[@kirstend.3533]

Thanks for all the helpful videos/experiments - I've learned a lot! Have you ever tried wthe (in Germany we call it) 'Salz-Hefe-Verfahren'? This involves mixing all the salt, ten times the amount of water and all the yeast (fresh yeast, unfortunately I don't know if dry yeast also works) together and put it in the fridge at 5 °C for between 4 and max. 48 hours. The saltstress produces glycerine. The fermentation tolerance, dough stability and gas holding capacity of the dough improve. In addition, the yeast cells produce carbon dioxide more quickly after the saltstress has ended. In my experience, this makes (spelt and wheat) 'Brötchen' even better.

[@ChainBaker]

I've not heard of this method, but it sounds very interesting. I shall investigate!

[@TheDuckofDoom.]

Distilled pure water can damage yeast. Osmotic pressure inside the cells makes them absorb too much and can damage the celll structure. But that is prevented by adding a small amount of any other ingredient, salt, sugar, flour...

[@jackpast]

Really nice experiment! Next, beans and salt! 😀

[@Helllllllsing]

I only use fresh yeast and I usually mix salt and yeast before pouring on water. Once I forgot it all for 15 minutes after which I could see that the yeast had started to dissolve, but I chose to just continue as usual. In the end, this did not affected the result at all.

[@mllulu]

I love your videos, thank you so much, I have learned a lot! Suggestion: can you make a video about CRUSTS? Like, what part of the recipe makes a crust hard or soft? Ingredients? Temperature? Time? The info I have gotten from google on this subject is very confusing.

[@ChainBaker]

Many things affect the crust. The ingredients, the fermentation, the baking. The longer the fermentation the crustier the bread. The more fat and eggs the softer the crust. If baked with steam the crust will be thinner and crispier. If without steam, then it will be harder and thicker. I might make a full video in the future :)

[@mllulu]

@@ChainBaker Thank you so much :)

[@pkguy3]

Full agreement on this. For me the key to success each and every time is weighing the flour and water a la bakers percentages using a digital scale. There are now fairly inexpensive scales that calculate the percentages as you weigh making it foolproof for the arithmetically challenged among us, me included LOL.

[@kenmore01]

👍 Great video and experiment! I can change my pizza dough recipe now from mix yeast, water and sugar in a measuring cup and let stand five minutes to mix everything together lol. That will save having to wash the measuring cup. Interesting that the middle one rose faster than the other two both times. Negligible of course, but it was consistent.

[@HeavyMettaloid]

I personally use the second method with a stand mixer. Toss all the dries excluding yeast (which gets to sit in some water for a minute or two) and mix them to combine, then add the yeast water.

[@macakucizmama831]

Thanks for an experiment. Can you make a video about aditives added to commercial breads? Ans what they actually do and why they add them?

[@MartinNewellCA]

Great demo, but with one flaw - the extra kneading of the third jar of dough, for which you theorized that extra gluten development would cause less rise. But you could remove this variable by simply giving the other two jars an extra kneading for the same length of time. Are you up for making another video?

[@ChainBaker]

It's not worth it. Salt has no effect on yeast in the short term. I've baked thousands of times and it never has 👍

[@JohnBelley86]

I think you just proved your point haha. There are a lot of wivestails inside homecooking that have survived generations for no good reason. I used to hear "bloom your yeast" from my family all the time and they use instant yeast. They'd tell me if you didn't see a half inch of foam the yeast wasn't good. Totally untrue. When i was learning how to make a starter I watched Tom Papas cooking show and on national tv, no fact check, said that your starter is absorbing yeast from your home. The yeast from your dog, your skin etc. No one at a cooking channel caught that? lol. You're not absorbing yeast with a starter, you're waking up the dormant wild yeast on the flour grains that's why it matters if it's bleached. Anyways great video, you could do an entire series on wivestails in baking bread though. There are hundreds.

[@ChainBaker]

Amen brother! Adding stuff to a starter is another old tale. It just requires flour and water damnit! 😂

[@philip6502]

The funniest thing I read about yeast was a sourdough super-fan (you know the type) was hoping to walk along a Mediterranean beach to catch that special yeast for his starter. I always picture some fool prancing around the beach with a butterfly net and a glass jar. 😁

[@arnievergara4273]

Another great content Charlie! 👍🏻

[@944gemma]

I always thought that bit about salt killing yeast was a crock. Thank you for prooving it.

[@jamesvoigt7275]

You do these videos so very well. I am informed and entertained.

[@ChainBaker]

Thank you :)

[@IMBlakeley]

Inspired by investigations like this I tried 2x identical loaves one with whey, one with water to see what the differences would be. Way way less than I expected, a little more caramelisation for the whey load but rise and crumb look identical there's a faint bitter sweet tang from the way but it is very small.

[@calvin3798]

Great video! Would you reckon this applies to other yeast, such as fresh yeast and sourdough starter? I always dissolve salt and sugar in the liquid, then yeast and flour. Never really affected my breads

[@ChainBaker]

I have never noticed anything with those either :)

[@calvin3798]

@@ChainBaker in yeast we trust!

[@annchovy6]

I never hold back salt when using sourdough.

[@calvin3798]

@@annchovy6 gotta salt bae our doughs😉

[@jenphotographs5566]

Hi, would love a breakdown on how yeast affects different types of non-wheat flour. A lot of gluten-free bread/pastry recipes call for yeast, but it was my understanding that yeast needs sugar and gluten to do its thing? So I'm not sure how it could have any effect on, say, chickpea or rice flour. I'll be staying tuned! While I'm GF, my partner and his son aren't and they will appreciate some of the savory breads you've shared here.

[@ChainBaker]

I am planning to explore gluten free baking in the future. At the moment I have basically no knowledge of it.

[@johnNJ4024]

Another informative and educational video. Fantastic!!!

[@ricardogao8147]

Just love these sort of vídeos where you compare and test different ideas. Any videos on different starchs and there effects on dough? Wheat, corn, potato etc? There are some asian baking and incorporate these starchs.

[@ChainBaker]

I might explore that in the future :)

[@adamcolon]

To solve the double mixing problem, you could mix the other two again as also.

[@MrLotw333]

Great debunking of this topic.

[@aksaint3734]

I think, that it doesnt matter in short processes. You dont need yeast to be alive, you need enzymes, that are in them and salt helps to extract them anyway. Long processes, where you need yeast to live and multiplay can be something else tough

[@ChainBaker]

Enzymes are in flour. Yeast eats the sugar that is made by the enzymes breaking down starch. You can add salt and yeast at the same time no matter how long you plan on fermenting the dough for. It will work the same way ✌️

[@Matzekoek-c9d]

Great video! Your scientific approach really helps me understand dough & baking (even though i apply it to pizzas..). The only hting that could've made id more scientific is also mixing the other 2 doughs twice, so that all variables are the same. Otherwise, excellent vid!

[@quakerwildcat]

Thanks for this experiment! I started ignoring the instructions and mixing salt in with the yeast and water about 2 years ago based entirely on seeing you do it repeatedly in your videos with no ill effect. Nice to see this myth definitively debunked.

[@karlie7]

I love this experiment! Thanks for making the video

[@yankun]

You can even mix fresh yeast with a 10% salt solution and let it sit overnight in the fridge. And voila, you get a dough improver! To protect itself from the salt the yeast will start building glycerin in its outer shell. If then put into the dough, the yeast no longer needs the glycerin. And you know what? Glycerin is a good dough improver. Also the yeast will become very active and produces more Co2. Just put all your yeast and all the salt from the recipe into 10 times the water of the salt amount (10g Salt = 100g Water). Disolve it, add the fresh yeast, dissolve it and then put it for 24h into the fridge and just rest all the mix together. Works like a charm!

[@gaijillahimself908]

It depends how much salt and yeast. I have a recipe which calls for more salt than (active dry) yeast, and dissolving them together made my bread flat and dense. And my water was definitely not too warm.

[@ChainBaker]

I have never made a recipe with less salt than yeast 🤔 It is always almost twice as much

[@gaijillahimself908]

@@ChainBaker I meant by volume, but I suppose most bakers use weight. That would be 9.30 g (1 Tbsp) yeast and 17.07g (1 Tbsp) salt. The recipe originally called for (1.5 Tbsp) 25.61 g salt, but that's way too salty. Dissolving them together in 0.53 liters (2.25 cups) for 5 min at 43.3°C (110°F) effectively stopped the yeast.

[@cristinaalcantara7345]

Thanks so much for clearing the air about yeast n salt❤️

[@MrWnw]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us

[@chadthousand351]

This explaination breaks all myths about salt in bread making.. Many of bakers in my country never mix salt and yeast at beginning. But how about the taste? Is there any effect between those three doughs?

[@ChainBaker]

Since they ferment at the same rate the taste would be the same too.

[@pyro_perspective]

i made the milk buns (tangzhou method) yesterday and they didnt rise at all... i still baked them off, but they tasted sweet. Indicates that the sugar wasn't consumed.. same yeast i used to make hot cross buns also on the same day.. i figured the salt had killed the yeast because it was the first time i put it all in together... handy that this video came up the next day.

[@CherylBradley-v9d]

I add corse salt in my sourdough after the initial 20 minute rest because I enjoy the occasional salt crunch when eating the bread.

[@Livllov]

Soooooo… lol… funny story… the reason I landed on your video today, is because I was making a sourdough dough using a recipe that made 2 loaves, but I only wanted to make one. So I cut the recipe in half and then .. well.. then I added the amount of salt (to my starter mixed in water - no flour yet) for the 2 loaves instead of the modified amount. I’m writing this while the video is paused at 4:40 bc I just heard you say that 5 minutes is a ridiculous amount of time to leave salt and yeast mixed together in water and I wanted you to know that THAT is exactly what happened when I realized I added too much salt. I left it sitting there while I frantically tried to figure out what to do. I didn’t have enough starter to make the second loaf, so I added in 50g and then 145g more water and 200g more flour. What I made would have required 16g of salt, but there indeed was 25g in there. Anyway… this is the situation that occurred that left salt and leaven in a mixing bowl of water for about 5ish minutes.. Now.. I’m gonna finish watching to see what happens… 😂

[@ChainBaker]

Wild yeast is a bit more finicky, so the salt may affect it more severely. But still it should be ok. Just leave it to rise for longer.

[@MrAlFuture]

Nice experiment. Thanks!

[@LocrianDorian]

Awesome video, dude, I was sure this was just old wives' tale hogwash, I really enjoy your channel, keep it up!

[@mytech6779]

Convincing evidence. As an aside from a chemistry perspective the concentration that matters to the yeast is salt to water ratio, not bakers' percentage. The flour does not dilute the effective salt concentration as far as the yeast is concerned; rather flour can further increase the osmotic pressure, but being a blend of carbohydrates and interacting with yeast biology the actual amount of increase from flour is somewhat complex. The flavor of salt is diluted by flour so bakers' math is good for making good tasting bread, but flavor was not what was being tested in this case.

[@lorenzovredeveld6992]

It also depends on what type of yeast you use with fresh yeast it wil be different but instant yeast is really forgiving

[@ChainBaker]

I've never had issues with mixing salt and fresh yeast either

[@lorenzovredeveld6992]

@@ChainBaker that is really nice when i worked in a bakery we had liquid yeast that was everything but forgiving if you add salt at the beginning it will not be alive long but was really easy to store

[@mayyabie6108]

Life will be easier now. One thing less to worry about. Thanks 🙂

[@bragior]

Maybe tangentially related, maybe not. I actually tried adding salt to help slow down the fermentation of my starter. Reason being, I live in a tropical country so the starter is always going to sit on a warm place and therefore a lot of yeast activity. Well, as this video showed in a time frame of 5 hours, that went just about as you'd expect. Eventually I just ditched the salt and just fed my starter more frequently.

[@ChainBaker]

Adding salt to a starter is a great method for slowing it down. I use 2%. Same as in a regular bread dough. You could also lower the hydration of it. That will make it ferment slower