(from British Baker, first published May 2001)

I’ve got a joke. A guy goes to the doctor and says, “If I cut alcohol, salt, sugar, butter and meat out of my diet, will I live a longer life?” The doctor thinks for a moment and says, “Don’t know. But it will certainly seem longer.” Like many of you reading this, I struggle with my diet. That is, I know what I should be eating, the five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, drinking lots of water (apparently one litre before lunch – try it, it feels like some sort of water torture), making alcohol an occasional drink rather than the regular fluid intake, and so on. And in the list, tucked somewhere between lard and sugar, is salt. Reduce your intake of salt, the doctors say. Better for your heart, less risk of hypertension.

The only trouble is, I like salt. Those little Spanish anchovies packed in sea salt, brine-soaked soft black olives tossed in fresh herbs, big fat chips fried in lard and tossed in salt. A slab of crisp foccacia drizzled in olive oil, and sprinkled with Maldon sea salt. This ‘added salt’ is in addition to the plentiful quantity used to cook the food I eat. And the bread I bake.

When I bake I tend to use between 2% and 2.2% of table salt per kilo of flour, and on average about 68% water to flour weight. So flour + water + salt gives a salt content in the dough of about 1.29%. A 950g piece of dough has 12.25g salt (roughly 4.9g sodium and 7.35g chlorine that combine to make sodium chloride), and after baking down to an 800g loaf still contains the same amount of salt. If we cut that loaf into 18 slices, then each slice contains about 680mg of salt. Two sandwiches made up from four slices of bread gives us a little less than half (2.72g) of our adult daily recommended salt allowance of 6g (max) for an adult.

Now as an adult, reasonably well educated, I guess I feel comfortable with the idea that my dietary choices in life might have a detrimental effect on my long-term health. But it wasn’t until recently, when I was threatened in a dark alleyway by a gang of nutritionists on a mission (ok, it was in a staff room in Reading) that I was made to see that many of our customers don’t have the knowledge to support their choices in life. Affected by advertising claims, promotions, inner desires and the traditions of their family’s taste, they do not consider bread a salt rich food. Nor did I.

Suddenly the image of a child skipping up the hill in Haworth to buy a crusty loaf from the old-fashioned bakery is a little more worrying (though its not like he picked up 20 Rothmans from the old-fashioned corner store). For a child’s diet, having nearly 1.5 grams of salt in the bread in their lunch (assuming they have just one sandwich) is not good. Add to that the salt in the filling, the soft drink, and the cake, and we have a dangerous problem.

The solution? I do believe that to drastically reduce the amount of salt in bread is to denature it, and that the risks to adult health must always be weighed against the way we adults choose to live life. So this is what we can do. We begin accepting bread as a high sodium food, and label it as such. Next, we need to identify bakery products particularly aimed at children, insist they be low in sodium, and encourage parents to purchase two types of daily bread. Finally, we develop low-sodium breads and cakes and add them to our existing product list. Now, I’ve got to go. I can hear an anchovy calling my name….

(from British Baker, first published May 2001)

It saddens me a little when I see so many excellent fruits and vegetables come into season, yet many bakers within our community seem unwilling to use them. Preferring instead to rely on the convenience and consistency of tinned or frozen fruit. Listen, I do accept there are many times when preserved fruits are preferable. There are health and safety issues that must be addressed when using any raw produce, and procedures and routines that must be followed. And the reliability of tinned or frozen food is a reassurance. But they should compliment and add to a frequent use of the best fresh produce you can buy.

I was in one town where the high street baker was situated next to the greengrocer. In the grocer’s window, and outside in baskets, were fine purple plums, rose blushed apricots, small boxes of fresh berries, and locally grown apples and pears. The grocers were very busy. Yet, bleakly displayed in the baker’s window were the usual suspects – a half filled tray of doughnuts with fondant and a glace cherry, a couple of cheese and pickle sandwiches, and six custard tarts. There was an image of sadness to the window, and the baker’s was quiet. I’m not suggesting that the lack of customers was due to the food on offer. Yet, I wouldn’t have bought anything there.

Are the skills needed to utilize fresh produce so foreign to us now? The ability to peel an apple, to slice a plum, to poach and simmer fresh fruit in sugar syrup, or to roast it simply with cinnamon, lemon and honey, are surely not forgotten skills to those of us who call ourselves ‘Master Bakers’? The cost of producing a few items each day, perhaps labour-intensive but rewarding both to the satisfaction of the baker and customer, is repaid tenfold by the customers it attracts. I may not always buy variety, but I sure want to know it’s there. We are creatures of habit, buying that same doughnut every day, but we want to buy it in a shop that inspires us.

Look at the way food is advertised on the television, say the Sainsbury’s advertisements with Jamie Oliver. What they attempt to say is that there is a youthfulness and vitality about the store. If you’re feeling the need to be active, without wanting to break into a sweat, there is something enticing and convenient to buy in the store. Certainly they don’t expect the profits to be generated by a few dried tomatoes and a portion of mozzarella. No, the big sellers will continue to be those everyday items like milk, eggs and potatoes. But to move those, they need to present an image that’s invigorating. These small attractive food items, whilst not adding greatly to the revenue, do have a vital role to play in the health of the business.

As bakers we have become confused about the meaning of ‘freshness’. It has little to do with a crisp crust on a loaf, or a crumb that stays bouncy soft for days. It refers to the way we capture and preserve the natural qualities of the produce we use to bake with, and the speed in which we make it available for purchase. So as the weather warms up, and the local market fruit becomes available, take advantage of it.