Here is my salt free white bread recipe. Similar to a Tuscan bread recipe, this lbread is extremely low in sodium. Quick and easy to make, it’s an all-purpose low sodium white bread that’s perfect for making sandwiches, toasts and more!
Kidney nutrition
As the name of this recipe suggests, this white bread is made without the use of salt. This makes it possible to have a bread that contains almost no sodium, the only sources being yeast and flour.
There are various breads of various origins in grocery stores, some being more suitable than others for kidney patients.
However, making your own white bread allows you to better control what you eat. It also helps you avoid preservatives and additives that some of them might contain.
This recipe is published in order to provide an alternative to commercial white bread that can contain a lot of sodium. However, it is recommended to prioritize breads made of whole grains to ensure adequate fiber intake.
Nutrition facts and claims
Here are the nutritional values and claims of this recipe.
For informational purposes only.
How to make salt free white bread
Whether you make bread with or without salt, it is usually possible to follow exactly the same instructions. However, the omission of salt affects a recipe both in terms of taste and texture.
That’s why I’ve made this recipe countless times in order to get the right methodology with the right proportions of ingredients to get a satisfying bread despite the absence of salt.
Note that I also prioritized simplicity and speed for this recipe. This bread is simple to make and can be baked very quickly. Here are the detailed preparation steps.
The starting mix
The first step is to make a liquid mixture. To do this, you must first mix sugar and yeast with some of the flour.
Then you need to mix everything with the hot water and oil to get a starting mixture.
Note that hot water is used to activate instant yeast in anticipation of bread rising. As soon as the yeast is in contact with the hot water, it will be activated and begin to act. However, do not use boiling water! This could destroy your yeast and your bread will not rise.
As for the sugar, it is used not only for taste, but especially as fuel for yeast so that it can “feed” for the duration of the rise.
Once the starter mixture is complete, the yeast is activated. You must then proceed immediately to the other preparation steps if you want to make sure taht your salt free white bread rise well.
The dough
Now you need to gradually add the flour to the liquid mixture and mix as you go. Note that in the list of ingredients there is a surplus of flour. It should not be added to the mixture right away. It is simply necessary to add the indicated amount of flour.
Note that this step can be performed using a blender if necessary.
Kneading
When the flour is completely incorporated into the dough, it is time to start kneading it in the bowl. Normally, the dough should still be a little sticky. It’s planned that way, you have to adjust it while kneading.
To do this, you need to sprinkle 1 tsp of flour at a time on your dough and knead until it is well incorporated. Repeat until you get a smooth, elastic and non-sticky dough.
Making bread is an art in itself and many parameters can affect it. So, instead of indicating a fixed amount of flour that may be adequate for some and inadequate for others, I preferred to add an adjustment step.
This allows you to make a very small adjustment that will let you get a perfect dough every time you make white bread without salt.
For example, when I make this recipe, I usually use 3 tsp of extra flour. But sometimes I have to use 4 tsp for various reasons inherent in the bread making process, hence the importance of adjusting the dough each time.
So I indicated an amount of 6 tsp in excess so that you can have enough flour for your own adjustments. These 6 tsp of flour are included in the calculation of nutritional values.
Note that for this step it is possible to use a mixer with a kneading hook instead of doing it by hand.
The rise
This salt free white bread recipe requires only one rising period. Once finished, the bread goes directly to the oven. This speeds up the recipe a lot.
Once the dough is ready and kneaded well, you need to place it on a flat, floured surface in order to lightly roll the dough. The goal is to make a rectangle of dough about 1 inch thick and slightly less width than the length of your bread pan. Your rectangle doesn’t have to be perfect.
Then you need to roll the dough on itself tightly in the direction of the length. Once rolled, you need to pinch the dough in order to close all the openings.
Once this is done, you just need to place the dough in an oiled bread pan and also cover with oiled plastic wrap. The oiled side of the plastic wrap should be placed on the dough.
Baking
Once the rise is complete, you should immediately bake your bread in the oven. In order not to delay baking, be sure to preheat it to 400°F (205°C) before the rise of your salt free white bread is complete.
Once cooked, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely before slicing. Ideally, let it cool on a rack.
Variations
Herbs and spices
If you want to give flavor to your bread, it’s easy to add herbs and spices to the starter mixture before making your dough.
A little garlic powder, onion and dried herbs and you will get a delicious and perfumed salt free white bread!
Bread shape
For this recipe, I suggest using a conventional bread pan, but it is also possible to use other types of pans or simply bake your bread on a baking sheet.
You can also divide the dough and bake a lot of buns! There is several possibilities!
Add fibers
It is possible to increase the fiber content by adding flaxseed, chia seeds, oat bran, psyllium, etc. However, it may be necessary to slightly change the ratio of water and flour by trial and error when kneading your dough.
Conservation
This bread without salt can be stored for 3 to 4 days at room temperature. It is also possible to freeze it for up to 3 months in the freezer. For ease of use, I suggest you slice it before freezing.
More recipes!
If you like this recipe, you might like these:
Salt Free White Bread
INGREDIENTS
- 3½ cups bread flour
- 1½ tbsp sugar
- 1 instant dry yeast packet (Note 1)
- 1½ tbsp olive oil
- 1½ cup warm water (not boiling)
- 6 tsp bread flour for adjusting dough
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, instant yeast and 1 cup of bread flour.
- Add the oil, warm water and mix well.
- Immediately after, gradually add the remaining flour (not the spare flour) while mixing. At some point, it will be more convenient to mix everything by hand and start kneading.If the dough is still sticky after using all the flour, continue kneading while adding 1 tsp of spare flour at a time until the dough is no longer sticky. You may not use all the spare flour. Use only what is necessary to obtain a soft, elastic and non-sticky dough. (Note 2)
- If you make several loaves, divide the dough now. Follow this step for each loaf.On a flat, floured surface, use a rolling pin and flatten the dough. Make a rectangle about 1 inch thick just a little less wide than the length of the bread pan.Then roll it on itself firmly to make a roll and pinch all the openings to close them.
- Place the dough roll in an oiled bread pan, cover with oiled plastic wrap (oiled side towards the dough) and let rise to room temperature from 30 minutes to an hour, or until the size has doubled.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) before the end of bread rising.
- Place the bread pan in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.
- Let cool before slicing and serving.
NOTES
NUTRITION FACTS
For informational purposes only. Nutrition data is primarily calculated from the USDA National Database. Values may vary from accuracy of measurements, brands, nutritional data and more. All measurements are metric (1 cup = 250ml). Readers are encouraged to make their own calculations.
Marc-Andre has been a kidney warrior since 2007. Since that time, he has learned to create his own kidney friendly recipes to preserve as much as possible his kidney functions. Now he wants to share what he has learned to help other kidney patients find tasty kidney friendly recipes.
Roxanne Papineau, RD, is a registered dietitian specializing in nephrology with over 15 years of experience in the field. She writes articles and reviews the content published on this site to ensure that it meets the most up-to-date recommendations for people with kidney disease.
Have you tried this in a bread machine? I can’t knead with my bad hands
Hi Maureen, I haven’t tried this recipe in a bread maker yet. It’s not planned at this time, but I’ll probably test it out and adapt a salt-free bread recipe for bread machines later.
I love making bread, but have had a hard time finding a good way to reduce salt after a medical problem caused me to go on a reduced salt diet. This recipe is absolutely perfect! Love it! So simple to make. I have a big bowl that allows me to knead it right in the bowl so it’s even easier. No pulling out my big stand mixer, its all by hand and extremely simple and easy. I recommend it to everyone. My other family members say its delicious as well. Thank you so much!
I’m really happy you like it!
Hi Marc-Andre!
Making this recipe right now! Looks and smells great. It’s in the oven! I really appreciate your recipe. My father-in-law recently had to start a low sodium diet due to heart issues. Thanks so much for the recipe. I like how it requires just everyday ingredients found in your pantry!
Hi Sheri!
I’m happy to read that you like this recipe. Your father-in-law is lucky to have you. I hope he liked this bread!
Made this for the first time tonight. My husband has to limit his sodium intake and missed bread. It was surprisingly very good!
I did substitute honey for the sugar.
I’m glad to hear that you and your husband liked this recipe, thank you for your comment!
Making this bread now
It’s currently in the oven. Cannot wait to try it out. Going on a satless diet for 3 days due to a prayer.
I hope you will like it!
I had to find a salt free recipe for my husband that was going through radioactive iodine treatments and had to be on a low salt diet, we actually all enjoyed the bread and it was really easy to make. Thank you for sharing, Barb
Thank you for your comment, I’m happy to hear that you like this recipe!
Hi Can this be made with wheat flour? My neighbor has congestive heart failure, and prefers wheat bread. So hard to find in a store so I thought I would try this for him.
Hi Kathleen, I haven’t tried this recipe with whole wheat flour, but I’m pretty sure that without the proper adjustments, replacing whole wheat flour with bread flour won’t work very well.
This was very good! Thanks so much for sharing it. I mixed mine in my bread machine, then let rise in a bread pan in the oven. I baked it in the oven. Turned out great! Will happily make again.
Thank you for your kind comment Kelly, I’m glad you liked this recipe!
Can regular flour be used instead of bread flour. I always use Gold Medal flour as I thought that was better for kidney patients.
Hi Cathy, I haven’t tried it with regular flour, but I think it might work. I looked at the Gold Medal website and they seem to offer bread flour too. I haven’t looked into this, but at first glance, I don’t think there really is a significant difference between this brand and other brands of flour that can impact the kidneys. What I can say is that according to the latest kidney recommendations, whole wheat flour is considered healthier because of its higher fiber content. But this salt free white bread recipe is published on this site for people who specifically want to make white bread.
Question. Same batch of dough. Divided in half to make 2 loaves. One loaf rose appropriately , just over the top of pan.
2nd loaf barely got to top of pan.
Rising time almost 11/2 hour
Any idea why rising different ?
Note. I made this recipe once before , using all the dough for one loaf. It was very good , but I thought the loaf was too big
I’ve never tried to divide a batch of dough so honestly I don’t really know why one half would react differently than the other. Maybe the yeast wasn’t evenly dispersed trough the dough or if you knead the dough once split, maybe one of them was too kneaded perhaps. When I developed this recipe, the only times the dough couldn’t rise was because there was too much flour compared to the liquids or when I kneaded the bread for too long.
Thank you for providing such a delicious and easy recipe for bread! We have been trying to find ways to cut out certain foods (prepackaged, preservative filled sodium laden ones to start) and came across this. I’ve never made bread before but so far all soon to be 6 (rising on the counter now) times I’ve made it its been perfect. Thank you!
Thank you for the kind comment, I’m glad to know that you always get a good result with this recipe!
Hello I would like to make this in my bread machine was wondering if you have different instructions and measurements for ingredients used. I recently had to go on a low sodium diet and would love to have bread again. Thank you in advance.
Hello, I have no additional instructions, I have never tried it in a bread machine. In fact, I just don’t have a bread machine. But if one day I buy one, I will update this recipe with the appropriate instructions.
Thank you 😊
Pretty good. Not what I call tasty because I am used to a lot of salt and have just started cutting down. Also I over browned the top of it and have to make an adjustment for that, but it was easy, and I will definitely do it again. And I am extremely grateful. I’m genuinely surprised and delighted. Tx.
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you that this recipe doesn’t exactly taste like a bread recipe that uses salt and I’m glad to know that you still enjoy this recipe even if it’s not salty.
Update I decided to jump in and use your recipe today in my bread machine and it turned out great! So yes you can use this in a bread machine, followed my machines recommendations of adding the liquid first the added dry ingredients, use the basic bread setting. Hope this helps others. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
Wow, that’s great! Thank you for trying this and letting everyone know that this recipe works easily in a bread machine!
We were thrilled with it. It was soup night. My husband ate his with some unsalted butter and was happy with it. My son had unsalted butter and a drizzle of honey. The texture was fantastic. I had it both ways. We have been avoiding salt for a while so it was easier for us. Can’t wait to see how it works with french toast, sandwiches and the like. There is nothing better than fresh baked bread. Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to comment, I’m really glad you like my white bread recipe!
This is GREAT!! Easy to make and a great flavor. I too am a kidney warrior. Haven’t even made it to a year yet but just about and finding lower salt recipes has been quite the challenge. Or at least finding ones that taste good. It toasts up really nice in the toaster too.
I’m getting ready to make it again. I also want to see about dividing a batch up and make buns out of it since it’s so good.
Thank you for posting this.
Thank you for your comment, I really appreciate having feedback about my recipes! Since you’re looking for new low sodium recipes, here’s another kidney friendly recipe website that doesn’t show up often in Google Search (in case you don’t already know this one): https://www.myspiceitup.ca/