I don't use any salt and everything I've baked comes out just fine, including taste.

rita, that's what the experts say. Of course, King Arthur Flour also used to say that if bread flour was used, the dough couldn't be kneaded by hand successfully and I did that for years too. Now I see that statement is gone from their website.

Salt can inhibit the rise when you are making bread, although I've not had that happen that I can remember. Others say they have. Another poster used to tell me that cinnamon would do the same thing, but I always dumped a bunch into the "sugar bread" that the Princess loved and it worked fine. I think the scientists say it "can", not that it "will", and perhaps given the right circumstances it "can".

My no-knead bread just tells me to dump all the dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk them, stir in water, let it rise. It works every time.

So, I think salt "can" or "may" inhibit your rise, but I don't think that's it's an absolute fact that it "will".

Annie

I use salt in most my breads, and have read salt in high concentration can kill active yeast but I've never given it much thought as I don't use that much salt. I mostly use SAF instant, so I can put salt in any time I wish if using. And yes, I do put salt in my sweet doughs (cinnamon roll dough, for example)... just not much.

I went on a salt-free diet many years ago, and found anything salted to be too salty. Now I use salt to a middling degree, and don't like unseasoned foods, from breads to pastas to anything. Moderation or not using it at all is key if one has an issue with salt. There are plenty of other ways to season food.

Salt in yeast dough puts a throttle on the yeast. You're supposed to reduce the amount of yeast you use if you reduce the amount of salt. If you forget the salt, you'll quickly see what a difference it makes--the rise is definitely 'spunky'.

I routinely reduce the salt by about half and don't adjust the am't of yeast. Probably should but I goofed and bought yeast twice. Bulk yeast from Amazon. 4 pounds of it. And then discovered that my body likes me a lot better when I omit/ restrict gluten. Fortunately, yeast keeps just about forever if refrigerated or frozen.

Like ci-lantro, I always reduce the amount of salt because of my husband's dietary restrictions. To that end, I cut both the salt & yeast amounts in half. And, yes, without the full complement of salt, the yeast goes bonkers and dough can overproof in no time.

Regarding adding salt later in the kneading process, that's usually recommended when using an autolyse. That's when you combine the ingredients for the dough, minus salt, knead gently for a bit, and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. I won't go into all the details, but I've added a link to a King Arthur Flour article about autolyse.

I use this technique a lot because I'm always modifying recipes to include 40% - 50% whole wheat flour. The slight mixing together of the ingredients along with the 20 minute rest seem to help soften the whole wheat flour and to distribute moisture better. I think it makes the dough easier to work with and produces a better final texture.

KAF Autolyse

I do like annie does....add the salt with the yeast....it works. But I am careful not to dump the salt directly on the yeast.
And on the times when I have forgotten the salt entirely, I noticed absolutely no difference in rise....and at the times when I remembered to taste my dough before shaping and discovered the lack of salt...and added it after the knead....also no difference.
Not calling bs on those who have seen a difference....but I have not experienced it....and I bake a lot of bread.

I noticed a couple of times when I was watching "The Great British Baking Show" they put the salt on the opposite side of the bowl from the yeast yet they wound up mixing it all up anyway so it didn't make sense to me and caused me to say "hum".

Even when I use sourdough starter, which is a different kind of yeast than commercial yeast and more touchy, I put the salt in and the bread rises. It might rise faster without the salt, but it rises.

The question of just before kneading is an odd one to me. Unless it's a no-knead or minimal stretch and fold bread, you knead right after mixing up the ingredients, anyway. And during the final mixing the gluten is already developing. I've added the salt late because I forgot it and it's much harder to add after mixing the other ingredients. For the best distribution and dissolution, I like to whisk it into my flour before adding the liquid and/or preferment.

Of course, I don't have the obsession a lot of others do with making bread fast. I start it early and let it rise for as long as it needs to.

Milk also retards yeast, btw, though I don't think it kills it. :)

If you try to proof your yeast in whole milk....it won't proof. Don't know if it's dead....or just very retarded....but I now remember not to do that!

I add salt in with the last addition of flour, and I use instant dry yeast, which I store in the freezer. I buy it by the pound - it would take me a while to use 4 pounds, especially since I get free bread from the bakery next door to where I work, which has excellent sourdough bread. I've not had much luck keeping sourdough starter alive, and so I've given up on that.

The one time I noticed dough rising much more than usual was when I made pizza in Mexico City and forgot to reduce the yeast.

The Pizza Show that we've been watching on TV said that you should use salt without iodine in bread and pizza dough, and so I use coarse sea salt from Mexico.

Salt concentration greater than 1-2% (20 g/kg, about four tsp in a two pound loaf recipe) will limit ultimate baker's yeast growth and slow fermentation significantly. I've never actually seen a recipe that called for more than that. Below that level the effects seem to be relatively small. Here's a link to a paper that measured the effects.

In very high salt yeast makes more glycerol and less ethanol, which could affect flavor in very long fermentations.