If you’ve used any of the recipes on this website, you’ve probably noticed two separate volume measurements for different types of salt. Diamond Kosher is the most plentiful salt in my kitchen and is why I call for it in most all of my recipes, savory or sweet. I especially prefer to use Diamond Kosher salt for cooking. The large crystals are visible on your food and their flaky shape makes them easy to pinch between your fingers, allowing you to actually feel how much you are adding to your cuisine. Inconveniently, these uniquely shaped crystals that enable a cook to so easily season their savory dishes can throw a wrench in any home baker’s goods. The shape and size of Diamond Kosher crystals cause it to measure out at twice the volume of its equivalent in table or fine grain sea salt. This is why I always supply a separate volume measurement for fine grain salts. A little variance in salinity can rob a good recipe of its full potential. Cookies, cakes, breads, and pastries made with too little salt can taste flat and bland, like they are “missing something”. Too much salt, and they taste, well, salty. To ensure a balanced taste in baked goods, if using Diamond Kosher salt, double the volume of salt that is called for in a recipe unless the recipe already specifically calls for kosher salt. Alternatively, to keep things simple, you can always keep fine grain sea salt on hand to use just for baking.
Professional bakers often weigh their ingredients and so they can ensure the proper ratios of all ingredients, including the salinity, by weight. While measuring salt by volume should give you the desired results in your home baking, there are times when weighing the salt is prudent. When pickling or preparing a brine, the salinity percentage can mean the difference between success and utter failure.