Changing the texture of bread to make it less dense could help reduce the salt content without losing saltiness as well as makes bread taste pleasantly salty.
In a report in American Chemical Society's (ACS) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists stated that making the pores larger can make people perceive bread as having saltier taste.
Peter Koehler and colleagues explain that in day-to-day life consumers intake twice as much salt, on an average, as the World Health Organization recommends.
Much of that salt is derived from bread. Lowering dietary salt intake would reduce risk for developing high blood pressure, which has been identified in 40% of adults aged 25 and older, and heart disease.
Various methods have been trialed such as using salt substitutes.
Research on cheese and gels revealed that altering texture can make a product taste salty even though salt content is reduced. In response, Koehler's team decided to test whether this would work with bread.
For the study, scientists have baked bread using different proofing times and found that the fluffier bread with the longest proofing time as more salty, although each bite contained less salt.
Longer proofing times leads to softer breads with larger pores.
Appropriate modification of crumb texture leads to enhanced saltiness, suggesting a new strategy for salt reduction in bread, the researchers said.
The study received funding from the Research Association of the German Food Industry (FEI), the AiF and the German Ministry of Economics and Technology.
ACS is a nonprofit organization chartered by the US Congress providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences.
Image: For the study, scientists have baked bread using different proofing times. Photo courtesy of Rawich at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
