"Andy Katz" > wrote in message
...
> I ask because I've been doing some simple baking, starting with
> cupcakes and using Magnolia bakery recipes. So their basic vanilla
> cupcake uses no salt in the batter, but their red velvet cake/cupcake
> does.
>
> Is that just a difference in style?
>
> And, if salt does add to batters as it does to breads why not just use
> it in all cakes or batters?
>
> In short, why is it a sometimes thing in baking? Does its presence
> have a deleterious effect on the product?
>

There are specific reasons to use salt in yeast-raised bread. Salt retards
the yeast and it also influences gluten formation. For the latter reason,
some people knead in the salt after the gluten has been developed rather
than with the rest of the ingredients.

In other baked products, salt enhances flavor. I sometimes add a pinch of
salt to recipes that don't include salt in the ingredients list. You have
to remember that writing cookbooks is an art and a science. Things are left
out and assumptions are made. That could be the case here. If you use
salted butter, then more salt may not be necessary. I would make the item
as specified. If it doesn't seem right, or you just want to experiment, add
salt to a subsequent batch. Keep notes. A half teaspoon of salt in a cake
recipe shouldn't cause any problems.