From a chemical scientific stand point... What roles does salt play in food besides the usual afterthought of sprinkling some on top of your food item to increase/enhance the flavor.  I know this is vague so lets just say bread.  Why all these years have chefs/food scientist bothered adding salt to almost every bread recipe?    Does salt control moisture?  Does salt control yeast activity? does salt control sugar regulation between the yeast through osmosis?   (Side not: Sorry if some of this is worded oddly.  There thoughts straight off the brain.)
123997
I was always taught to add a pinch of salt to flour when baking (mainly cakes / muffins and puddings).  I have recipes that specifically mention adding salt and others that don't.  Is there a scientific reason to add salt?
23527
A "compressed yeast cake" is called for in each of my great-grandmother's bread recipes. Can I use active dry yeast as a substitution for one? If so, how much active dry yeast should I substitute per compressed yeast cake?
58887
I was told by a friend that, when making pizza dough, I should add the salt at a later stage than the yeast, because it might disturbe the yeast from doing its thing...  I apologize for not having anymore concrete information, I just wanted to check this...
121538
Yes, obviously it can vary. I'm just looking for an approximate range, as a good place to start for my first time making a batch.  A good answer would be something along the lines of:     10 to 20 grams of salt per 100 grams of raw cabbage   Or something like that.  [EDIT: that was just the format of answer I wanted. That actual ratio would probably be about ten times too much salt.]
1604
Why would one need to mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, soda) separately and before mixing into the liquid (butter, sugar) than just mixing everything into one bowl at the same time when making cakes? What would be the result if done ?
94551
I saw somewhere they rubbed sliced eggplants in salt and leaving them out up to an hour before putting them in the oven. From what I understood it had to do something with the eggplant's bitter taste...  I want to cook sliced eggplants in the oven myself now, and some in with a pasta sauce. Should I rub them in salt? Why do people do that?
6926
I've never seen anything with both yeast and baking powder. What's the reason for that? Shouldn't e.g. muffins get even more fluffy by adding some yeast? Or bread by adding baking powder? I know there are differences in flavor, but there are cakes with yeast as also non-sweet things with baking powder. So that shouldn't be the problem...
84356
I have a recipe for rolls where the first stage calls for 2 packages active dry yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water to be mixed until the yeast is proofed, and then 1/4 cup cubed butter is added to the proofed yeast.  Then all of that is added to half of the flour (2 cups) and 2 tsp salt and allowed to do the first rise.    If I wanted to use rapid rise yeast instead of active dry, could I skip the proofing step?  Would I need to add the butter at all?  Could I just mix all the dry ingredients, add the warm water and start the dough that way?  What effect would this change have?
46465
I've begun cooking Asian food in the past year or so, and in many Korean and Chinese beef recipes, I see instructions to soak beef in water. Just plain water, not salt water or anything. And every recipe seems to have a different  time - from 5 minutes to like, multiple hours.  I inquired about this and was given various reasons for this step, including "to remove the blood (because it is simply undesirable", "To remove the blood, because it gives the meat a bad taste" or "To soften the beef".  I'm wondering:   Does soaking meat in water really remove that much blood? How much of a flavor component is blood and why would it give it a bad taste (especially since i've never soaked beef before and I've like the taste just fine)? What is the action of solute-free water on a piece of beef immersed in it? Can it really tenderise it to any degree, or is there any osmosis occurring or other such physical/chemical action?
45519
Like many people sheltering-at-home, I'm baking . My yeast supply is running low, and I'm not sure I'll be able to get more on demand. I'd like a simple way to make sure I have yeast on hand for my next batch. Could you all recommend a method for storing a starter culture?  Specifically:   How should I store it (how much? where? I have a fridge ~4C and a wine cooler ~13C)  How often should I feed it? With what? Should I divide the culture when feeding?  How much should I use when baking? Can I treat it like dry active yeast, or does it need more/less time?   For some other context, I'm a novice at making bread (I've made it a few times, and others in my family make it more often). I see lots of advice on sourdough starters, but am interested in something that's a replacement for dry active yeast (unless sourdough starters are actually easier to maintain). I found a  that was similar, but it focused on long-term storage of yeast and the answers did not describe how to use the starter.  Your advice is appreciated.
114913
I live in a country where nutritional yeast is not readily available. I'd like to make it. Anyone know how?  Other forms of yeast, such as baking yeast and brewer's yeast are easily found here. I understand these yeasts are essentially the same organism (Saccharomyces cerevisiae?), so I'm wondering if I can't combine yeast—instant baking yeast for example—with some kind of nutritional base like sugar water, let it ferment, dry it out, and "harvest" it.
114517
I am a keen baker with a big sweet tooth. I often use coloured icing and sponge when I bake, but often the colouring I use changes the taste of the icing/sponge.   Does anyone know how to prevent the food colouring changing the taste of food or how I can minimise it?   The food colouring I use is: Dr Oetker
102510
Yesterday, I made a sourdough loaf with a high hydration (80%) and as usual, when I turned it out of its banneton, it simply couldn't hold its shape and became very flat; only about 1 1/2 inches at the highest point.  The recipe follows: Sponge: 50g water 50g spelt flour 100g starter (100% hydration)  Sponge 344g water 230g whole meal spelt flour 230g strong white flour   Mix together ingredients for sponge; ferment overnight in fridge. Mix water, flours and sponge together and knead until elastic. Rise until it becomes 1 1/2 its original size. Shape into a boule (for surface tension) and place in floured banneton. Rise until doubled; turn out and bake.   Although I made the recipe up there is nothing unusual about it and this happens with other high hydration loaves. I know it is a high hydration but others have formed lovely . How can I also achieve these high boules?
86258
I'm trying to reduce my salt intake.  I've noticed in baking recipes where baking powder is used they add salt.  Can I omit the salt or would the recipe fail?
30866
Sometimes I see a recipe call for dried herbs. If I have access to fresh herbs, should I go for fresh herbs instead? Is there any benefit in using dried herbs with some recipes?
101290
I  buy mussels at Pusateri and Whole Food Market for a year in Toronto. They sell them on ice and dry, not in running water.      , Bart teaches add salt to cold water and  soak for 20 mins. But I repeat 6 times...so 20 mins x 6 times = 120 mins of soaking!!! Mussels exudate less black grime every next time, but even after 6 times, water still has much black grime! See my pic under! Why? This happening for a year!     Part 2,  has GIF that shows you what I mean.
76684
I was always taught when cooking Indian dishes to fry spices in a chopped/pureed onion and garlic mixture to release their flavour and essential oils.  I was also taught that when the oil separates from the mixture, the spices are done and you can carry on with the next stage of the dish.  That's the principle technique I've always used.  Can someone please explain why the oil separates and what this signifies? Have the spices absorbed as much of the oil as they can and release the rest?  I'd really like to understand this process.