Cooking question about this recipe??

PrairieRoseNE

Hi everyone - a friend gave me an easy & yummy sounding recipe for a Beer bread - so I plugged the recipe into the recipe feature here at MFP and the result is that each slice of bread would have almost 300 mg of Sodium - which I think is high.

I'd like to know if I can reduce the sodium (the amount of salt) without affecting how it rises, bakes and tastes??

Here's the recipe. No kneading, resting or rising time is required. Goes right into the oven!!!

3 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt = =1770 mg of sodium
3 tsp. baking powder = = 1440 mg of sodium
2 tsp. sugar
1 12oz bottle of beer (depending on brand - could have some sodium)

Directions - in a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar together. Pour on the bottle of beer, stir to mix until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Shape into a loaf shape, place in a greased bread loaf pan and bake for 50 min at 325 degrees.

My friend says this is a great tasting bread - but she doesn't have to watch her sodium like I have to.

Do you think I can elimnate the 3/4 tsp of salt and still have a decent loaf of bread - especially when you see how much sodium is in the baking powder. I confess I'm not a nutritionist, so I don't know if all that salt is necessary to make the bread rise & bake properly?? Any advice would be appreciated - Thanks

JamesonsMommy

how about using a salt substitute

chef970

Use "lite salt"

Nikkie_too

I wouldn't mess with the baking powder, but you could cut the salt down quite a bit. Maybe try 1/4 tsp and see how that goes for you.

Jessicaruby

you can just eliminate the salt. Salt is just used in recipes to enhance the other flavors in the food. However with bread salt acts as an inhibitor to the yeast so just watch the bread closely as it may rise a bit quicker without the salt.

PrairieRoseNE

Thanks for the advice - I'll try it once without any added salt and just go with the baking powder in the amount recommended - Thanks!!

aliciagetshealthy

The baking powder and the yeast in the beer are going to affect how the bread performs. As to taste, I've never had it so I couldn't be sure, but would think you'd have no problem at least cutting it in half.

bcampbell54

Salt does double duty, flavor and dough conditioning. Start with the 1/4 tsp like someone suggested; that should be enough to control the rise. If it tastes weird, add a little more to enhance the flavor, or maybe some substitute (I don't use them, so I'm just guessing there).

PrairieRoseNE

The baking powder amount in this recipe already has 1440 mg of sodium - would that be enough to control the rise of the bread???
I went and re-factored the recipe and if I totally eliminate the added salt, each slice of bread would have 107 calories and only 120 mg of sodium.
I guess I'll just have to give it a try and see how it tastes - Thanks EVERYONE!!!

rockerbabyy

ive always been scared to reduce salt in baked goods. let us know how it goes, id like to try this recipe too!

16mixingbowls

The reason it's an easy recipe is that it has the sodium. Since it doesn't have yeast to cause the bread to rise, it needs the chemical reaction of the baking soda and the acid in the beer to rise. You can probably get rid of the straight salt, but you do need the baking soda to react with the beer. The salt does change the flavor of the bread, so if you eliminate it, the bread won't taste the same. (Not that it will be bad, but just different.)

That said, if you have more time, you can really reduce the sodium by using yeast for the rising agent, and eliminate the baking soda and the salt. (If you make it with no salt I'd recommend keeping it in the refrigerator after you bake it, or else it will mold quicker.

rockerbabyy

That said, if you have more time, you can really reduce the sodium by using yeast for the rising agent, and eliminate the baking soda and the salt. (If you make it with no salt I'd recommend keeping it in the refrigerator after you bake it, or else it will mold quicker.

how much yeast would you think to replace the baking soda and salt..

16mixingbowls

[/quote]

how much yeast would you think to replace the baking soda and salt..
[/quote]

One packet of instant yeast mixed with 1/4 cup warm (not hot) water, and a teaspoon of sugar. Once this foams up and gets frothy, which takes about 10 minutes, you can then add in the beer and then gradually add the flour. (If it doesn't froth up then throw it our and start again.) The gluten in wheat flour gets tougher the more you mix it, so mix it just until incorporated. The dough should pull away from the bowl and have none sticking. It's better to slowly add the flour so that you don't add too much. Then, knead it till smooth on a floured surface and cover with a dish towel and leave in a warm spot to rise for a few hours. Then, literally punch it down, knead again, and place into a bread pan. Cover it with a towel again, place in a warm spot again, and let it rise again for at least an hour. If you live in a cooler place, you can set your oven to its lowest setting and put it in there for an hour or so.

While the mixer toughens the gluten (hence don't OVER mix), kneading dough stretches them out and created the chewy texture that's so great about bread.

If you want the crust shiny, brush the loaf with egg white before baking. This is also a time you can add seeds to the crust.

tigersword

The yeast is in the beer. That's actually the origins of yeast, bakers got their yeast from brewers.

Bread without salt will taste flat, and also mold very quickly. Salt is a preservative at its core, you never want to eliminate it from baked goods completely because you need some form of preservative, unless you're going to eat the whole loaf in a day.

As for replacing the baking soda with regular yeast, well, technically you could, but then you'd be making a completely different kind of bread than the recipe you have, plus yeast requires kneading and resting, which completely eliminates the point of making a quick bread, or soda bread. It won't taste anything at all like it's supposed to, because adding the yeast and sugar, and eliminating the soda will completely change the flavor.

wolfchild59

Get sodium free baking powder. I have some and haven't seen any ill effects in baking with it in place of regular baking powder. But as others have said, the actual salt itself has more of a purpose in the science of baking. At most you may be able to cut by half and replace the other half with a salt-free "salt" substitute. But it's amazing how much sodium can be cut from baked goods with sodium fee baking powder. They also make sodium free baking soda, but I haven't been able to find it in a store, only online, so I haven't tried it yet.

16mixingbowls

The yeast is in the beer. That's actually the origins of yeast, bakers got their yeast from brewers.

You are so right! I didn't even think of this!! (Duh!!)

emilydmac

bump i want to try this recipe lol

PrairieRoseNE

Gosh - I wish I'd known that a sodium free baking powder is available - I was at WalMart today and I could've looked for it - OH well.....LOL

I'm thinking I will add approx 1/4 tsp of salt to my recipe and see how it tastes. I'm thinking I'll just enjoy the slice of bread and limit my sodium in other ways :-)