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Salt-free Bread is a Winner

Photo of a round loaf of freshly baked bread next to a blue cast iron casserole dish.

Eating good homemade bread is one of life’s pleasures. Bread baking is making a comeback, mostly because it’s gotten easier to make good, quality bread in a normal kitchen.

Most bread has only four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt. That last ingredient—salt—can be a problem. Salt is linked to high blood pressure as well as to kidney and heart disease. Bread is one of the biggest contributors to the salt in our diets, especially when it comes from a grocery store and is filled with sodium-based (salty) preservatives.

Most Americans need to limit the amount of sodium they eat to 1,500 milligrams a day. Store-bought bread often has between 170–250 milligrams of salt per slice. If you have a bagel at breakfast (500 milligrams), a sandwich with two slices of bread (500mg) at lunch and a roll for dinner (200mg), you’ve eaten almost a whole day’s worth of sodium.

Why bake bread? Not only is it fun to make, but your own homemade bread can significantly lower your sodium intake.

This recipe is a family favorite. Fresh rosemary offsets the missing salt. You can substitute half whole wheat flour to add more fiber. Depending on room temperature, your dough may rise more quickly, so keep an eye on it. Using a heavy-bottom pot, or Dutch oven, is one way to create a great crust.

For recipes, continue reading this article in the April 2018 issue of AgeWise King County (click here) …