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Standard recipes for brownies have a teaspoon of salt in them. Questions like this one and this one explain that it's only for taste. Can you just put some salt on top after they are baked?

For example, the linked answer might imply that yes you can just sprinkle salt on the baked brownie afterwards. But is that true? I also don't understand the comment about "raw flour". None of the flour should be raw after the brownie is baked!

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Simd
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  • @Stephie I suppose a difference is that brownie recipes don't have any yeast in them. That answer doesn't really address the question as it relates specifically to brownies. – Simd Nov 20 '15 at 11:16
  • The answers also deal with the flavour-enhancing properties. – Stephie Nov 20 '15 at 11:16
  • @Stephie It is rather general though. My brownie recipe has sugar, butter, vanilla essence, dark chocolate, plain flour, eggs and nothing else in it (if you omit the salt). For example, that answer might imply that yes you can just sprinkle salt on the baked brownie afterwards.. but is that true? I also don't understand the comment about "raw flour". None of the flour should be raw after the brownie is baked! – Simd Nov 20 '15 at 11:18
  • I leave the question of duplicate to the other members of the comunity, it needs five votes after all. If you feel that the other Q/A doesn't fit, I suggest you edit your question to point out where you see a significant difference. – Stephie Nov 20 '15 at 11:20
  • @Stephie Sorry.. I meant sprinkle *salt*. – Simd Nov 20 '15 at 11:23
  • Yeast has indeed a bit more considerations due to salt inhibiting their growth. But we have a more general question encompassing all kinds of sweet baking, including brownies. It happens to contain the traditional American view, but I also posted a new answer on why I see it as limited. – rumtscho Nov 20 '15 at 11:37
  • Oh, on reading it for a second time, the second question ("can I get the same result by sprinkling") is not a duplicate. Lembik, would you like to edit this question or open another one focused on only that part? You can link to the other question as a background, and ask if sprinkling causes the same effect as putting it in the dough. It's a separate, and interesting question. I'd upvote it. – rumtscho Nov 20 '15 at 11:40
  • @rumtscho Thanks. It is in the first paragraph of my question currently "Can you just put some salt on top after they are baked, for example?" Do you feel that isn't prominent enough? – Simd Nov 20 '15 at 11:42
  • @Lembik the whole question seems to be focused a lot on "why do you put it in". Also, a ton of people don't even read the body but answer the title directly. I'll make an edit and if you are OK with it, I'll reopen. Else we can discuss further how you want to word it. – rumtscho Nov 20 '15 at 11:44
  • Tried similar things, eg putting salt that I forgot in the dough into the glaze instead... unless salt would work in the component/spot you are salting instead anyway, results tend to be horrible... – rackandboneman Nov 20 '15 at 15:59
  • Many brownies don't use salt in the recipe anyway. If following a recipe that does, I would omit it. – Chris H Dec 21 '15 at 14:54

2 Answers2

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Sprinkling salt on top won't have the same effect as mixing it in the batter, you'll get a big salt hit all at once and then nothing in the brownie itself which I wouldn't expect to be very pleasant.

Some recipes withhold some of the salt from the brownie and put it in a sauce for the top like a salted caramel drizzle. This works because it's not pure salt on the top and there's still salt in the batter.

GdD
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  • Brownies aren't so bag that putting salt on top only wouldn't mean that you wouldn't end up getting salt with every bite. I would suspect that if the salt had high surface area (ie, not rock salt), it'd bind the tongue's receptors .... but you might still run into the 'over-salted' issue as more of it would make it to the tongue directly. – Joe Nov 20 '15 at 13:19
  • @Joe "Brownies aren't so bag that putting salt on top only wouldn't mean that you wouldn't end up getting salt with every bite." This is very hard to read! – Simd Nov 20 '15 at 13:24
  • @Lembik : Sorry -- type ... aren't so big. It's not like a cake, where you might have a bite that didn't include the top. And it's not like an oreo where you might separate it into layers to eat (which would also mean you didn't get some of the top in every bite). It's closer to a steak fry, where you get some of the salt from the outside in every bite. (although, in that case, there'd be salt on the bottom, too) – Joe Nov 20 '15 at 13:33
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If you forgot the salt, then you are kinda outa luck. However, a little kosher salt sprinkled on top and baked in can be quite Pleasant. Sweet and salt is a good combo.

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