Using ascorbic acid instead of salt when making bread

[dgg9879]

I want to make the spelt bread rolls from the Everyday Cookbook this Saturday (7th August). I have successfully made bread using ascorbic acid instead of salt using a bread maker (I don't even have it any more as I have the Thermomix). Please confirm if I can substitute ascorbic acid for salt in the Spet Bread Roll recipe.

[achookwoman]

dgg9879,  can't really help with this one.   If it works in the bread machine,  then it should work using the TMX.    However that said,  ascorbic acid is usually used as an improver,  and salt to give flavor and control/retard the yeast.  It might be a good idea to do a test run before Sat.

[Thermomixer]

How did it go??  As Chookie said, if it worked in the bread maker then it should be OK.

I don't particularly like bread that has no or little salt.  They make it that way in Tuscany, and it does nothing for me.

As Chookie said, the vitamin C helps the yeast do its job better.

[andiesenji]

I don't like bread made without any salt.  Low salt is okay and I often use the 50/50 salt/potassium combination sold under various name brands here in the US, but I never leave it out entirely.

I also am not a fan of Tuscan bread, or of a similar type made in Normandy.  It just tastes flat to me.  I have seen people dip it in olive oil and sprinkle on some coarse salt so if one is aiming for a low salt diet, that ain't the way to go!

I've been baking most of my life (worked in my mom's bakery as a teen and went to Dunwoodie baking school in the mid '50s) and have tried just about every version of bread one can bake at home and in my opinion a little salt is necessary to achieve a good balance in bread. 

Citric acid or ascorbic acid give a boost to the yeast and will usually yield a lighter loaf but occasionally can speed up the fermentation so that the dough will overproof and collapse when put into the oven.  You have to toe a very fine line when adjusting some recipes and substituting ingredients.