: Low sodium French Bread or Baguette Is it possible to make low sodium French Bread or Baguettes? My husband is on a low sodium diet and will only eat French Bread. I know there is a relationship between yeast and salt.

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It is entirely possible. You leave out the salt and that's it, no other changes needed.

The preference for salt in bread is learned, at first it can be weird to get accustomed to it, but as time passes, you will find yourself being unpleasantly surprised when you happen to eat salted bread.

Salt does have effects beside those on the bread tasting salty, but they are not really that important. For example, the yeast is somewhat inhibited by salt, so the dough might take a tad less time to rise - but the same will happen if your house is a degree or two warmer today than last time, so unless you are using a fully controlled, tightly measured process, you won't even notice that. Terry's answer mentions more about the role of salt, but frankly, I have never missed those things explained there (I've been baking strictly salt free bread for the last year or so). So, is it possible? Yes, it is possible, and it is even tasty.

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Salt will kill yeast if directly exposed; furthermore it will have an effect on the texture as well as significantly altering the taste.

Just remember that if you are baking your own bread the amount of sodium is significantly reduced compared to commercial products (Most of the bread recipes I've used have very little salt in them anyway) and you may find that you will not need to modify the recipes to fit your husband's diet.

Also, you might consider using a low-sodium salt substitute.

King Arthur Flour has a great rundown of how salt affects bread here.

I've copied and pasted the text in case the link dies:

Salt is a major component in bread, and performs several important
functions. We will discuss these functions in detail, as well as some
other attributes, with the goal of providing the baker with a thorough
understanding of the characteristics and correct use of salt in bread
baking.

Salt provides flavor. Bread baked without salt will have a flat and
insipid taste. On the other hand, bread made with an excess of salt
will be unpalatable. Generally, the correct amount of salt in bread
dough is 1.8 to 2% of salt based on flour weight (that is, 1.8–2
pounds of salt per 100 pounds of flour). The lack of ability to coax
fermentation flavor from bread sometimes causes the baker to use an
excess of salt. But it should be kept in mind that, while salt
provides flavor, it is not a substitute for the fine flavor of
well-fermented flour, and the role of salt is to enhance, and not take
the place, of true bread flavor.

Salt tightens the gluten structure. The tightening gives strength to
the gluten, enabling the dough to efficiently hold carbon dioxide,
which is released into the dough as a byproduct of the yeast
fermentation. When salt is left out, the resulting dough is slack and
sticky in texture, work-up is difficult, and bread volume is poor.

Salt has a retarding effect on the activity of the yeast. The cell
wall of yeast is semi-permeable, and by osmosis it absorbs oxygen and
nutrients, as it gives off enzymes and other substances to the dough
environment. Water is essential for these yeast activities. Salt by
its nature is hygroscopic, that is, it attracts moisture. In the
presence of salt, the yeast releases some of its water to the salt by
osmosis, and this in turn slows the yeast’s fermentation or
reproductive activities. If there is an excess of salt in bread dough,
the yeast is retarded to the point that there is a marked reduction in
volume. If there is no salt, the yeast will ferment too quickly. In
this sense, the salt aids the baker in controlling the pace of
fermentation. Nevertheless, we should note that a careful usage of
yeast, control of dough temperature, and the type, maturity, and
amount of preferment used are better tools for fermentation control.
Salt quantity, as we have noted, should stay within the 1.8–2% range.

Salt indirectly contributes to crust coloring. This attribute is a
result of the salt’s characteristic of retarding fermentation. Starch
in the flour is converted into simple sugars by the amylase enzymes,
and these sugars are consumed by the yeast as it generates
fermentation. Since the salt is slowing the rate of the sugar
consumption, more of what is known as residual sugar is available at
the time of the bake for crust coloration. In the absence of salt, the
yeast quickly consumes the available sugars, and the crust on the
baked bread is pale and dull.

Salt helps preserve the color and flavor of flour. The carotenoid
pigments, naturally present in wheat flour, are responsible for giving
flour its creamy color and wheaty aroma. It is extremely important for
the baker to understand that an unbleached flour, such as all of King
Arthur’s flours, contains a complete profile of carotenoids, and that
bleaching flour destroys these fragile components. For this reason
alone, choosing a high quality unbleached and unbromated flour is
preferred for all breadmaking. Other than bleaching flour and thereby
destroying the carotenoids, overoxidizing of the dough during mixing,
which occurs when a dough is mixed too intensively for too long, also
destroys them. Salt has a positive effect on the preservation of
carotenoids, because dough oxidation is delayed in the presence of
salt. For this reason it is preferable to add salt at the beginning of
the mix. In this way, salt benefits the eventual flavor of the bread
by helping to preserve the carotenoids during the mixing of the dough.
When salt is added during the later stages of dough mixing, it can be
detrimental to the carotenoids, which may become overoxidized.

One other use of salt is useful to note. It is common to include a
portion of salt in a levain culture during warmer and more humid
months. This addition of salt, at a rate of 0.2–0.3%, retards the
action of the natural yeast, and thus prevents over-maturing of the
culture. In the preparation of German-style rye bread, there is a
similar technique that is occasionally employed, called the Salt-Sour
Method, in which all the dough salt is used in the sourdough phase.
The result is to slow the activity of the sourdough yeast cells,
reduce the production of acidity, and have a strengthening effect on
the gluten structure.

Also, you may find this thread helpful.