"Salt is the only rock directly consumed by man.

It corrodes but preserves. It desiccates but is wrested from the water.

It has fascinated man for thousands of years, not only as a substance he prized but as a generator of mythic and of legendary meaning.

Its contradictions only intensify its power and its links with the experience of the sacred."

Margaret Visser

"Salt preserves foods by creating a hostile environment for certain microorganisms.

Within foods, salt brine dehydrates bacterial cells, alters osmotic pressure and inhibits bacterial growth and subsequent spoilage.

In the early 1800s salt was 4 times as expensive as beef on the frontier-"

James T Elher, FoodReference.com

"Salt is the policeman of taste:.

It keeps the various flavors of a dish in order and restrains the stronger from tyrannizing over the weaker."

Margaret Visser, 20th century author

In bread, salt controls the fermentation rate of yeast

Without salt, bread rises faster and air pockets enlarge where the gluten has broken, allowing holes to form.

If you choose to eliminate salt, decrease the proofing time so that the large air pockets don't have time to develop.