Less salt for cold fermentation

[Sukillavaan]

Hi,

I have been wondering why less salt is used for a dough that is to be cold fermented? It seems that for cold fermentation the amount of salt is normally in range 2 - 2,5% whereas for fermentation at room temperature 3% salt is more common. What is the reason/chemistry behind this?

I am mostly making neapolitan style pizzas so the above salt percentages refer to the recipes I have seen on this forum.

Thanks.

/Mikko

[TXCraig1]

In this forum, I think in general you tend to see 2ish% salt in CF doughs here because they are often NYish-style, and you tend to see 3ish% in the RT doughs because they are often NPish.

[The Dough Doctor]

And also, salt has a regulating effect upon the fermentation rate. Higher salt levels slow the rate of fermentation and lower salt levels allow for a faster rate of fermentation. Years ago when I was looking into the history of pizza with Evelyn Slomon I observed that the older methods of making almost always used a higher salt level than more modern methods. I attributed this mostly to the lack of refrigeration available at the time and the fact that bulk fermentation was the order of the day as opposed to subdividing the dough into individual smaller pieces which are far easier to manage with regard to fermentation. Add to that the fact that salt strengthens the dough, the higher salt levels fit into the pizza dough equation quite well. It really wasn't until we began to see the use of refrigeration in making pizza dough that we saw salt levels coming down to where we typically see them at today (1.75 to 2.25%). With refrigeration to participate in controlling the rate of fermentation the higher salt levels were not needed and in all probability at one time or another resulted in the dough moving too slowly after the refrigerated storage (cold ferment) period.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor

[Sukillavaan]

Thanks a lot for the answers, I really appreciate it.

/Mikko