That time I forgot to add salt to 60 loaves of sourdough

Last Tuesday I was rushing through my morning prep at the bakery and completely spaced on adding salt to my dough mix. I didn't realize it until the first batch came out of the oven around 10 AM. The loaves looked perfect but the taste was flat and lifeless, like eating bread flavored cardboard. I had to toss the whole batch and start over, which set me back about 3 hours and cost me over $100 in flour alone. My boss was not happy and I felt like a fool standing there watching him taste it. Has anyone else made this kind of basic mistake and found a way to catch it before the bake?

3 comments

3 Comments

jamesf291mo ago

Ive done the same thing with a big batch of cookies, it happens.

max2231mo ago

Wait, have you ever looked at a baking tray and just known you messed up before you even pulled it out of the oven? @jamesf29 I swear every time I try to make a "big batch" of anything I end up with a weird science experiment instead of food. Last time I made 48 cookies and they all came out looking like flat, sad pancakes. At least they still tasted good, right?

the_paul1mo ago

Were you able to see any difference in the dough before you baked it? I've heard sourdough without salt gets real slack and sticky, almost like it's overhydrated. Did it feel different when you were shaping it or did it look normal the whole way through?