Copyright © 2010 by Mark Bitterman

Location and salt macro photographs copyright © 2010 by Mark Bitterman

Food photographs copyright © 2010 by Jennifer Martiné

The following material is reprinted with permission:

Pages 6 and 12, stone cutters in Pakistan, courtesy of Maqbool Bhatti
Page 12, Maras salt fields, courtesy of Leslie Trites
Page 18, Camargue salt works, courtesy of Mathieu Ginod
Page 20, agehama-shiki salt making, courtesy of Okunoto Endenmura
Page 52, drawing of Guérande solar salt ponds, courtesy of Jill Davies, adapted from
oeilletdeguerande.com
Page 65, Maldon Salt Company, courtesy of Maldon Salt Company
Pages 118 and 150, salt pan floor, courtesy of Lennie DiCarlo

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of
the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered
trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file with the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-58008-262-4

Printed in Singapore

Design by Betsy Stromberg

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

First Edition

Bitt_9781580082624_3p_01_r1.indd 4 6/8/10 3:13 PM

 unSalted Bread witH unSalted Butter and Salt

MaKeS one 1 1 /2-pound loaF; ServeS 12

Salt that is everywhere is nowhere. Burying food in layers of salted homogeneity gives you
nothing so much as a lot of salt. yes, salt can be used to subjugate other flavors, bending
them to an evil imperial will, enslaving them to the offensive goal of not offending anyone. The
dark lords of homogenous salting hold cocktail parties where they try to keep everybody in
the usual safe conversational ruts—children, sprinkler systems, geopolitics—while you, a rebel
with your feathered hairdo or cinnamon buns attached to the sides of your head, try to bring
light, freedom, and individual expression to the sensory galaxy. Allow your ingredients to con-
verse, each reflecting upon what it has to say before sharing with the others. heavily salted
breads and presalted butter have possibly done more than any other two foods to reduce the
net amount of mirth and pleasure experienced on earth. unsalt them, and then set them free
with your salt. A small amount of salt can be added to round out the bread’s toasty flavors
without detracting from the salt’s romp through fields of buttered grain.

2 cups bread flour, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 three-finger pinch of fine traditional salt (optional)
1/4pound good, fresh unsalted butter, preferably Irish
or locally made, slightly softened
Small pile of sel gris, preferably a mineral French sel
gris such as sel gris de l’Ile de Noirmoutier
Combine the flours, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add
1 5/8 cups of water and stir until blended; the dough will
be shaggy and sticky. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic
wrap and let rest for 12 to 18 hours at room tempera-
ture. It is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, flour
the top, and fold the dough over itself once or twice.
Cover with plastic and let rest for 15 minutes.
Using just enough flour to keep the dough from
sticking to your hands, quickly shape the dough into
a ball. Place a flat-weave (not terry) kitchen towel on a
sheet pan and coat the towel with flour. Put the dough,
seam side down, on the towel. Sprinkle generously with
more flour and cover with another towel. Let rise for
2 hours, until the dough does not readily spring back
when poked with a finger.
At least 45 minutes before the dough is done rising,
put a 6- to 8-quart covered Dutch oven (plain or enam-
eled cast iron) in the oven and preheat the oven to
450°F.
When the dough has risen, remove the top towel.
Slide your hand under the bottom towel and gently flip
the dough into the hot Dutch oven, seam side up. Shake
the Dutch oven to position the dough in the center.
Cover and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for
about 10 minutes more, until the top is very crusty. Let
cool on a rack.
To serve, cut the bread into thick slices and serve
with the butter and a small pile of sel gris.

uncooked 207

Bitt_9781580082624_3p_03_r1.indd 207 5/21/10 2:41 PM