Sorry, unless its pure canning salt, or curing salt (also used in meat curing), its not recommended. Sea salt contains a LOT of other stuff, but you may find that the Morton Kosher (or another brand), may be fine if the silicone dioxide is not added. Also keep in mind that the Kosher is a very large granule and is not measured in the same way as pickling/curing salt, as volume wise you would use more. Sometimes evn big bucher shops can help too. They also cannot have any additives. Stay away from any rock salt too. Another option is to use a Ball, or mRs Wages pickle mix which usually has all the necesaary stuff except the water and vinegar.

RJ......I now plan to mulch mow some of my leaves for mulch next year. But there is no way i can use all of them. I literally end up with close to fifty bags. And yes, in spring we're STILL bagging up leaves...... from the neighbors houses. They aren't very diligent about picking up their leaves, so inevitably throughout winter they all blow into MY yard. I can't even begin to tell you how frustrating it is. I feel like I'm raking leaves for six months out of the year!!!!!!!!!! ditnc - I'm assuming Mainely Mulch is mostly in New England. I do not know anyone who has used it. I just came across it at a local nursery while searching for straw. This was all they could offer. I believe it was somewhere in the $20 range. I passed, hoping to find something else to use, but have not. Maybe I'll use it and post my experience with it? Kim

Barb, as others have pointed out, most salt substitutes contain potassium chloride. For a healthy person, ingesting a bit of extra potassium is no problem. However, many people who are placed on low sodium diets have serious health problems and take several medications that must be balanced with their diet. For example, my husband is on a salt-restricted diet and takes diuretics, including a potassium-sparing one, along with coumadin and other cardiac-related medications. So he has to monitor his intake of green-leafy vegetables and avoid salt substitutes. When he was first diagnosed with congestive heart failure, his cardiologist told him NOT to use any salt substitutes. Sometimes people with CHF and other heart-related health issues also have reduced kidney function, so that precludes them from using potassium chloride based salt substitutes. The article below explains things well: From the Harvard School of Public Health: REDUCED OR NO-SODIUM SALTS Potassium chloride tastes a lot like sodium chloride, and is the main ingredient in reduced- or no-salt substitutes. It has a bitter aftertaste, especially when heated, and so isnâÂÂt recommended for cooking. Some companies add L-lysine, a common amino acid, to mask or neutralize the bitter taste. Sodium-free substitutes contain 100 percent potassium chloride, while âÂÂliteâ salts replace up to half of the table salt with potassium chloride. Because most Americans get too little potassium, using a potassium-based salt substitute could offer some small protection against high blood pressure, stroke, heart rhythm problems, kidney trouble, and even osteoporosis. (But not nearly as much as cutting back on sodium, not smoking, and exercising!) It isnâÂÂt for everyone, though. Check with your doctor before trying a potassium-based salt substitute. Most people can tolerate extra potassium, and actually need more of this mineral. But extra potassium can be dangerous for people who have trouble flushing out any excess or who are taking medications that can increase potassium levels in the bloodstream. This includes people with diabetes or kidney disease, those who have had a blocked urinary flow, or those taking a potassium-sparing diuretic, an ACE inhibitor, or an angiotensin-receptor blocker. Here is a link that might be useful: Harvard School of Public Health - Salt Substitutes

Just as you thought. To "retard" bread dough you sit it in the refrigerator. Make sure it's tightly covered with plastic wrap (or you can place it in a large zip-lock bag) so it doesn't dry out. Naturally-leavened breads take much longer to proof than bread made with baker's yeast. It's an all-day process which starts the night before when you feed the starter. Chilling dough "retards" the action of the yeast (and that's why it's called "retarding" the dough). Retarding the dough also influences the texture by opening it a little more and it also creates more flavor. The down side to retarding the dough is that it reduces the volume. You can compensate for this by dissolving 1/2 t. of yeast in a few tablespoons of warm water and knead this into the dough before shaping. There are recipes specifically for refrigerator dough recipes and they usually have mashed potatoes (or other mashed vegetables) in them (or instant mashed potatoes can be substituted). The potatoes add moisture and keep the dough from drying out in the dry confines of our frost-free refrigerators. These recipes often have more yeast in them than a standard recipe. Betty Crocker Refrigerator Dough is a good classic recipe that contains mashed potatoes, and the dough could be left in the refrigerator for up to 5-days. So on day one you could make the dough, and each day thereafter you could bake something different - dinner rolls, hamburger or hot dog buns, braided dinner rolls, Parker House Rolls, Crescent Rolls... -Grainlady