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ShopDough Enhancer’s: And How-To Use Them
There are many reasons you would want to use a dough enhancer.
Dough enhances can improve the texture, taste and crust of
the bread. Most of them also act as preservatives which helps
keep your bread fresher long. Best of all they are natural
and so are perfectly safe to add to your bread.
I am also going to bet that you add dough enhancers to your
bread already and didn’t even know it. Everything other than
flour, water and yeast is a dough enhancer in some fashion
or another. For example sugar or any sweetener acts as a
food for yeast thereby giving the yeast more energy and that
in turns gives you a better risen and lighter loaf of bread.
Now if you use honey for your sweetener you are also getting
a natural preservative that will help keep the bread fresher
a little longer.
If you recipe calls for eggs, here again we have a dough
enhancer. First the egg is a leavening agent that gives you
a lighter loaf of bread and the lecithin rich yolk also helps
improve the breads texture, moisture level and it is also
a mild preservative.
So, you see you have been using dough enhancers all along.
These information contained in this document is here to help
you understand the different ingredients and what they do
to your dough, how the help preserve it and how to combine
them to get the best effect.
Lecithin
Helps keep bread fresher longer & works with the gluten
to make a lighter bread. It also helps make the bread moister
and acts as a mild preservative. Made from soy or egg yolks.
Comes in liquid or granular form.
Use: 1 Tablespoon per cup of flour
Non-Diastatic Malt
Super food source for the yeast which give the bread better
structure & makes the bread softer & tender. Made
from dried sprouted barley and is not the same as malted
milk powder. Comes in liquid or granular form.
Use: 1/4 teaspoon per cup of flour
Ascorbic Acid
Creates an acidic environment for the yeast which helps
it work better. It also acts as a preservative & deters
mold and bacterial growth. If you can’t find pure ascorbic
acid crystals you can use Fruit Fresh (canning isle) or a
crushed/powdered vitamin C tablet.
Use: 1/8 teaspoon per loaf
Dry Acid Whey
It is the essence of buttermilk with out the milk solids.
Like with Ascorbic Acid it helps create a good environment
for the yeast work quickly and vigorously, giving a maximum
rise in short periods of time. Acts as a preservative & deters
mold and bacterial growth. When buying Dry Acid Whey make
sure it says “acid” on the package. If it doesn’t
assume it is sweet whey which isn’t the same and won’t work
correctly.
Use: 1 teaspoon per cup of flour
Vital Wheat Gluten
Vital wheat gluten occurs naturally in all wheat and wheat
derived white flours. Some white flours have more or less
than others. Vital wheat gluten only does one thing, it helps
improve the rise and texture of bread. With out it you have
a rock, door stop, paper weight. Generally, if you are using
white bread flour you don’t need to add any. However, all-purpose
or whole grain flours need Vital Wheat Gluten.
1 Tablespoon per cup of flour
Pectin
Pectin adds moistness to the bread and it replaces fat in
the bread. This is the same pectin used to make jams and
jellies. It comes in liquid and granular form. The granules
are easier to work with and store.
Use: 1 teaspoon per loaf
Ginger
Ginger is a yeast booster it gives it a “quick-start”,
and keeps it working. Because of its astringent properties
it also helps keep the bread fresher longer and it deters
mold and bacterial growth. It is best to used powdered ginger
in your bread. You don’t have to worry you won’t taste it
in the amount used.
Use: 1/4 teaspoon per loaf
Dry Milk
Milk helps with crust browning, bread moisture, taste and
nutritional value. It also helps the dough to relax for those
times you want to roll it out or shape it. Dry milk or powdered
milk work the same.
Use: 1 Tablespoon per cup of flour
Gelatin
Gelatin helps with bread texture and moisture. It is also
of nutritional value and is good for the hair and fingernails.
Make sure to use unflavored gelatin.
Use: 1 teaspoon per loaf
Fats
Fats. Fats help with taste, texture and the moisture of
the bread. Most French bread recipes don’t contain fat as
it takes away the chewiness of the bread. You don’t need
to be worried about the fat content of most bread. Most recipes
use a tablespoon or two and that is for the whole loaf. A
single slice is very low in fat.
1 Tablespoon per cup of flour
Eggs
Eggs add rise, color, texture and taste to bread. Also,
if you use the yolk as well you get some of the effects like
using lecithin.
Use: 1 large egg replaces about 1/4 cup of liquid in the
recipe.
Buttermilk
Buttermilk helps the yeast work quickly and vigorously,
giving maximum rise in the time frame allotted by bread machines.
It also softens the texture of the bread. Like with any acid
type addition it also helps keep the bread fresher longer
and it deters mold and bacterial growth. You may need to
add 1/2 to 1 tsp. of baking soda to the bread to offset the
tartness of the buttermilk. I personally, like the tartness
as it reminds me of sourdough.
Use: 1/2 Cup replaces the same amount of other liquid in
the recipe.
Garlic
Garlic is a flavoring in larger amounts, but in smaller
amounts it helps the yeast, it make the dough easier to roll
out and it is a preservative & deters mold and bacterial
growth.
Use: 1 teaspoon per loaf, will affect flavor
Cake Flour
Cake flour makes for a softer more tender bread. It also
makes a good addition to pizza dough as it helps make rolling
out the dough easier.
Use: Replace up to 1/4 of the flour called for in the recipe
(no more).
Commercial Dough Enhancers
There are several commercially available dough enhancers
on the market. They all work well, but they can be expensive
for what you get so be careful. There are several commercially available dough enhancers, they can be expensive and with a little effort on your part are often needed. But, the choice is yours.
It is affordably priced, you get a good amount and it works
well and doesn’t contain anything you wouldn’t want in your
bread.
Making Your Own
If you want to gather the ingredients (health food stores,
large supermarkets) there are currently two recipes for dough
enhancers in the recipe section of this site. The Bread-Fresh™ Dough
Enhancer helps with dough conditioning, rise improvement
and bread freshness.
I found out a few weeks ago that I am high allergic to something all bakeries are now putting in the bread, cake, donuts and any baked goods they make: Ascorbic acid, aka
DOUGH ENHANCER. After eating one small cinnamon roll yesterday morning, I went to bed around 11:00 a.m. but found it was harder and harder to breathe.
For some reason, the chemical used in this small cinnamon roll cut off my ability to breathe. I sat up in a chair all night, drinking hot coffee to open my airways. No one knows how frightening this is.
I’d really like to know WHY the baking industry can’t bake a loaf of bread or make a cupcake, donut or bagel now without dumping more and more chemicals into the mix?
I’m disgusted with all of them as they do not seem to realize there is a penalty for consuming such un-needed chemicals in something as simple as bread!! GRRRRRRRRRRR
People have been baking bread for thousands of years, all without these added chemicals. WE DO NOT NEED THEM. I can just hear my grandmother, who baked her own bread, asking what in the world is bread dough enhancer?, then shaking her head in disbelief!
When is the food industry going to stop this nonsense?
I picked up a pkg. of cookies the other day at the local supermarket and in reading the label, I discovered, amongst
the dozens of chemicals in the cookie, “Carnuba Wax!!!!!” i SUGGEST EVERYONE START READING LABELS BEFORE YOU PURCHASE BAKED GOODS. You will be horrified to learn what they are using in foodstuffs, one being “sawdust” so grated cheese does not stick together! Another is red insects in a popular brand of yogurt to color it a strawberry color! This is not acceptable!
That’s it, folks, I’m never buying another loaf of bread or cookies and from now on, I’ll bake my own. Others should follow suit if you want the lives of your family to remain safe from cancer and all the dredded diseases we see cropping up in children as young as 1-2 yrs. old. We then ask why? ……duh!
P. S. - BTW, who wants a loaf of bread to remain “fresh” and embalmbed for a month anyway? The Country of France has no such thing as “day-old” bread because it is against their laws to add chemicals or preservatives to their food. Too bad we don’t learn from them, at least when it comes to the food they eat.
Earlene from San Diego June 2nd, 2008 at 6:07 pmAscorbic acid is Vitamin C! I doubt you’d freak if you saw it was “high in vitamin c”.
Gluten is also just two amino acids. Some people think it’s some evil thing added to bread but it’s what makes bread fluffy.
I’m not too surprised about wax in cookies, it’s in most chocolates. But it is lacking in flavor.
Not to say there aren’t unhealthy things in commercial products, just that sometimes we overreact. I remember an Oprah once where the guy was acting disgusted by the ingredients of the products and read the “sodium bicarbonate” on the label and went on talking about all the other things we can’t even say. Well Sodium bicarbonate is baking soda. Not something scary. He picked the wrong thing to complain about.
Heather W June 6th, 2008 at 12:29 amThe list of “chemicals” in the article is about as natural a list of ingredients as you will ever find! I am continually amazed at new-age sheep wringing their hands at the thought of ‘added chemicals’ in food. I guess they have been brainwashed by nut-jobs with pet theories purporting that this or that is killing us. EVERYTHING is made up of “chemicals”! Have you ever seen the chemical composition of a fresh orange? Did your Granny ever add buttermilk to her bread? If so, she tried to poison her family with ACID WHEY. How about adding an (even a free-range farm hen’s) egg? Uh-oh . . . your chemically polluting Gran just added LECITHIN to your food. I’ll bet dear old grandma even used potassium bitartrate in her Lemon Meringue Pies. Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. If you bake from scratch, you don’t need to worry about sawdust, red bugs, wax, the French, or what Oprah thinks, etc. BUT YOU WILL BE ADDING AND CONSUMING CHEMICALS, just like you do each and every day. Get a life.
Scott from Phoenix June 17th, 2008 at 11:27 amTo Heather W and Scott from Phoenix:
Earlene from San Diego July 13th, 2008 at 4:41 pmWhat a bunch of dumb butts you two are. I doubt seriously you would even dare say the things you did about someone ingesting something as innocent as bread, then being unable to breathe, that is IF you had once ounce of compassion! Have you ever had your airway cut off and you were gasping for the next breath? …had the air knocked out of your lungs as a kid; swallowed something that got caught in your throat, then began gasping for the next breath, etc? Obviously not, otherwise you could relate to this frightening experience!! Go spend an evening in the emergency room seeing a child who cannot breathe on a breathing machine. Someday this might happen to you. You obviously know of no human being who is asthmatic, has COPD or an inability to breathe due to an gluten allergy, etc. I’m appauled at the lack of compassion you morons have for the human race and the holier than thou attitude both you display!! If you were educated you might be appauled at food labels and the number of preservatives, such as BHT, BHA, sulfites and other chemicals being dumped into America’s food supply which you innocently eat, yes, including a simple loaf of bread. Better be careful because someday it could happen to you. Go eat mud for all I care!!!! You’re nothing but lowlife Idiots!!!!!!!!!!
hi, I’ve never heard of a vitamin C allergy. Are you sure it wasn’t something else you ate?
april August 7th, 2008 at 2:39 amnot trying to by rude, my son has allergies, but I’m sure you would have ingested vitamin C before now and had reactions. If it’s your first time having an allergic reaction, maybe it’s something new you’ve never ingested before? did the doctor say that’s what it was, or did you just read the ingredients on what you ate, and assume it was the thing you did not recognize?
mary August 7th, 2008 at 2:43 amYes we live in a world where a lot more chemicals are used in the production of our food than were used in the time of our grandparents. I hear many people who jump on the nutrition bandwagon and parrot what they have heard other people say, knocking all the chemicals and preservatives found in our foods today.”They are killing us”. We are constantly on information overload with all the testimonials we are given in the media and shows like Opera. Who do you believe? As part of my nutrition degree I received at a university I took a food additives class because I was interested about the topic. Points of interest: thousands of people died in Granny’s day due to food poisoning, but due to the lack knowledge at the time it was not always diagnosed as such. Today the foods we have available to us as consumers year round are often due to chemicals. Most things have a chemical composition, so do not get hung up on the word “chemical”. I thought Heather and Scott made some extremely valid points and at no time felt they were belittling Earlene’s bad experience with breathing so found her name calling emotional response to be a bit of a shock. There are lots of things contributing to our diseases today that go beyond just the food we eat. As consumers all we can do is keep an open mind and become as knowledgable as we can from “credible” sources and updated information. Different foods have differing effects on people as will differing chemicals. Never be so closed minded as to believe the truth you have discovered contains the whole truth or the only truth.
Carla August 7th, 2008 at 4:35 pmGuys…be gentle and kind to one another. It is a scarey thing to not be able to breathe…I am asmatic and so is my child. I however you can out of fear get so tied up into food and what is bad you then create that which you feared most. After what I have read here I think soy lecithin is an excellent choice btw…It is a supplement you can get anywhere. Thanks for posting this info…I will you all the best of luck in your endeavors.
“Z”
Zhevah September 30th, 2008 at 5:21 pmAnother thing my Grandma used to add to a loaf of white bread was a little less then 1 teaspoon of vinegar. You couldnt taste it but she said it would help the bread stay fresh. Who knew?!! The fresh bread that grandma made never seemed to last more then a day anyway.
jeff October 21st, 2008 at 11:48 pmVitamin C??? Holy crap! What low-life scum would try to poison poor sweet Earlene with vitaminC???
Ron October 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 amI used to live next door to a little girl who was allergic to ascorbic acid/vitamin c. It is very possible. Also depending on where your immune system is at, you can live many years with no reaction/allergy to something and suddenly the next tine you ingest it you react.
Roxane October 23rd, 2008 at 7:26 amAs far as chemicals in food I understand that there are naturally occurring chemicals in food. I believe what Earlene was referring to mostly is the man-made chemicals.(Although there are naturally occurring chemicals that are poisonous) And yes they are harmful and can cause cancer. (even though the AMA may not tell you that) I happen to have cancer right now and have done lots of research. Check out the book “Cancer, Step Out of the Box” It’s pretty amazing what we put in our bodies.
For those who do not realize that yes ascorbic acid is Vitamin C, however it is a man made vitamin which robs the body of Vitamin B-12, an essential vitamin to help with stress, mental function, abdominal problems, as well as neuropsychiatric issues. So before you start condemning your fellow brothers and sisters for their use of ascorbic acid, you might want to think twice about using it. It could mean the difference between driving yourself home or driving yourself mad.
Lisa October 25th, 2008 at 12:06 amI am a big proponent of the idea that using as few ingredients as possible in foods, and one of the reasons I love to make most of what we eat from scratch is to avoid “mystery ingredients”. However, I have no qualms about using a safe additive that can lighten the texture of my whole wheat loaves. I think people forget that EVERYTHING we eat, drink and breathe is a chemical. Think hard before you condemn something for being a chemical, because, frankly, that could lead us to run screaming from something as basic as “dihydrogen monoxide”, commonly known as WATER. I’m not a scientist, but since many, many people take a vitamin C tablet as part of their daily supplements, I’m guessing that these mysterious vitamin C allergies are exceedingly rare. I’ve staved off many a cold from a high - but not dangerous - dose of it when I feel the symptoms coming on. Most vitamins supplements really just become expensive pee anyway, since your body flushes out the nutrients it doesn’t use. Very few of us are going to have adverse effects from crushing a vitamin C tablet into our dough. Also, yes, there is synthetically produced ascorbic acid, but it does occur naturally in fruit. I think Lisa means well, but making vitamin C sound like crystal meth is a bit excessive. These negative effects she describes most likely occur in cases when a huge amount of the vitamin is ingested. That being said, I’m gonna go try out a crushed vitamin C tablet in my bread dough!
Lindsay October 27th, 2008 at 10:33 amAlso, Earlene, I’m baffled why did you stayed up all night drinking coffee to try to cure this breathing issue? Why didn’t you go to the emergency room? I would have been on the horn to 911 in a second if I’d been you! Did a medical professional diagnose your allergy? And by medical professional, I don’t mean acupuncturist or others of that ilk.
Lindsay October 27th, 2008 at 10:40 amLindsay do you have any nutritional or medical background? Coffee actually is extremely helpful for an acute asthma attack.
While dough conditioners are for the most part benign, some people actually have allergies to what’s called sulfites which are used in everything that is processed, including dough conditioners. So knowing what dough conditioner is being used in your bread can make the difference between an enjoyable food or a trip to the emergency room. Much like a gluten allergy, with sulfites/dough conditioners & many other ingredients, people should be aware of what is in their foods and any potential effect it could have on them. While I’m not in total agreement with Earlene’s philosophies, some have credence. Enjoy your bread with crushed Vitamin C, but I’ll pass.
Lisa October 27th, 2008 at 5:45 pmEarlene, if you are truly allergic to ascorbic acid (aka vitamin C) you may want to check out fruits and veggies that contain them and avoid them also, if you haven’t as of yet. Some that contain the most are: bell peppers
broccoli, papaya, oranges, strawberries, tomatoes, cantaloupe, mango, grapefruit, as well as others.
tangerine
Crystal November 13th, 2008 at 9:34 ampotatoes
cabbage
spinach
Broccoli, Papaya, Oranges, Strawberries, tomatoes, Cantaloupe, Mango, Grapefruit, as well as Tangerine, potatoes, cabbage and Spinach… all contain natural vitamin C as well as many other vitamins and nutrients that work well with natural vitamin C. ASCORBIC ACID is synthetic ( a man made version)
Katie December 3rd, 2008 at 8:45 amwhy is that so hard to understand!
OMG! this a site about baking bread not bigging upto each other! grow up people!
Julie January 9th, 2009 at 10:33 amOMG! this a site about baking bread not bigging upto each other! grow up people!
Julie January 9th, 2009 at 10:33 amJust for the record, it is interesting to note vitamin c as we’re thinking of it occurs in nature as a compound with many components. Ascorbic acid is just one of the components found in the vitamin c complex that you’d find in fruits and vegetables. Generally, ascorbic acid causes no problems. When we ingest high amounts of that isolated component, such as ascorbic acid, we can develop sensitivities and actually cause scurvy! The man who identified ascorbic acid named it ascorbic because it means against scurvy, but he found within a year that ascorbic acid itself not only doesn’t prevent scurvy, it speeds the process. Ascorbic acid is indeed chemically produced, which is how to get that one isolated component, and it does not actually match up to what occurs naturally. Who woulda thunk?
Ann Taylor January 11th, 2009 at 1:27 amAnn it is so nice to see that someone actually sees and understands, and could express it so well as you have, the facts about ascorbic acid and it’s “chemical” basis. Thanks for the history. You’re right. Who woulda thunk?
Lisa January 17th, 2009 at 6:04 pmEarlene,
Blanche January 31st, 2009 at 8:54 amWhat a horrible experience you had! I’m wondering though, if it might be a sulfite allergy you have. Sulfites are used in dough conditioners.
Ann, I think you reversed something there. Every ascorbic acid molecule, including the ones referred to as Vitamin C, has exactly the same chemical composition. The individual atoms in the molecule can be arranged differently, though, and each of these arrangements has slightly different chemical properties. Only one of these arrangements is called Vitamin C, and as far as I know that is the one occurring naturally in foods.
As for scurvy, I have to doubt your story — I cannot find any support for it myself, and every medical text I can find recommends 300-1000 mg/day of ascorbic acid (not Vitamin C specifically) to treat scurvy.
Bill March 1st, 2009 at 2:33 amIn Earlene’s defense, I am on this website because my husband just had the same reaction to a delicious bread with “dough enhancers”. That is a very broad term. It seems the only safe bread for his is what I make.
Juli March 8th, 2009 at 6:44 pmWow. Just wow. Earlene’s post and most of the responses to it have really driven home to me the sad state of education in this country. Very few people here seem to understand much, if anything about, about what “chemicals” are.
Ginny March 18th, 2009 at 6:51 amThere are two types of ascorbic acid: they are called “isomers”. One is the d-ascorbic acid, the other is l-ascorbic acid. The difference between the two is that in their atomic structure, they are mirror images of one another. In nature, l-ascorbic acid is the one that is biologically active and important. When we make “man-made” ascorbic acid, it will be a mixture of both isomers. Further refinement separates the two, so that what you buy is essentially 100% l-ascorbic acid. It is *exactly* the same molecule as the l-ascorbic acid found in fruits, vegetables, etc.
Can taking too much vitamin C (l-ascorbic acid) hurt us? Likely, yes. There is even evidence that taking too much while fighting cancer may actually help the cancer to survive and grow! It doesn’t matter if the overdose of vitamin C is man-made or from natural sources.
As others have said, everything is a chemical or mixture of chemicals. Every part of our bodies is made of chemicals. Just because a chemical is conciously and purposefully synthesized by humans does not make it bad or dangerous. There are dangerous chemicals that are both natural and man-made.
Oh, and also: you are better off taking vitamin D supplements to prevent colds. There is alot of new evidence emerging that vitamin D is very important to a strong immune system, and most people in northern (of the equator) regions are low in vitamin D.
Ginny March 18th, 2009 at 6:53 amwhat were we talking about again before everyone got up in arms about vitamin C, and grannies and coffee? Oh ya, how to make homemade bread taste better….
Cathy March 20th, 2009 at 2:02 pmlets stick to the topic at hand shall we? sheesh!
I am a baker and I only use ascorbic acid in the form of lemon zest. If one has a problem with that then they should not eat any type of citrus or drink any carbonated beverage.
Cliff June 1st, 2009 at 11:45 pmI HATE chemicals! I will never eat bread with Vit C in it! that is a chemical! EVIL BAD will kill you k
Bob Yasatovich July 14th, 2009 at 7:58 pmWow, lots of controversy over the C, lol. I just got a bread maker recently and I am all for lots of experimentation to see what makes great bread. What do you find works best to make the slices more like sandwich bread from the store, softer so they don’t break when made into a sandwich? The recipes that came with the machine are pretty limited so I have been checking out things online. Thanks!
Timilee July 19th, 2009 at 3:26 pmI WORKED IN THE REAL BAKERY INDUSTRY IN THE 60/70S DELIVERING FRESH BREAD. I WORKED FOR A COMPANY CALLED BIRKETT AND BOSTOCK IN STOCKPORT AND THEY TRADED AS CHAMPION BREAD AND CHAMPION IT WAS. THEY EVEN HAD AN ADVERT ON BUSES SAYING “CHAMPION BREAD IS BETTER THAN EVER”.THESE OF COURSE WERE IN THE DAYS OF LOTS BAKERIES, BAKING VERY NICE LOAVES AND THERE WERE NO SILLY SUPERMARKETS BAKING THEIR OWN BREAD. THERE WERE LOTS OF GOOD QUALITY CORNER SHOPS HAVING FRESH GOODS DELIVERED DAILY AT REASONABLE PRICES. SHOPS DID NOT STAY OPEN ALL NIGHT THEN AND DAILY FRESH DELIVERY MEANT FRESH. NOT SILLY “EVERY LITTLE HELPS “SUPERMARKETS TAKING OVER OUR LIVES. BREAD WAS BAKED AND SOLD FRESH EVERY DAY EVEN BY THE LARGER BAKERIES WHO AT THE TIME EMPLOYED LOTS OF PEOPLE. NOT ONLY HAVE SUPERMARKETS CLOSED LOTS OF GOOD QUALITY COMPANIES BY THEIR GREED BUT ARE THEY ARE FORCED TO PUT MORE ADDITIVES INTO THE STORE BAKING PROCESSES TO FOOL US ALL THAT THEY TRADE IN HONEST FRESHNESS.LIFE WAS A LOT BETTER THEN AS WELL.
DENNIS CAWLEY November 5th, 2009 at 4:28 amWow, what a bunch of nutcases.
Vitamin C is Vitamin C.
Your body can’t tell a difference whether the chemical was compounded in a plant, or in a beaker.
Did the complainer actually go to a doctor who told her she was allergic to Vitamin C? NO. She sat up all night drinking coffee, and blamed her asthma attack on the bread, but it could have been anything. People who diagnose themselves and then complain to everyone else are just nutjobs, plain and simple. Ignore her.
thomas November 10th, 2009 at 2:00 pmAn allergic reaction is nothing to make fun of. Allergy can kill a person. Coffee is a time honored way to throw off an asthma attack, when a rescue inhaler is not available. I have had some frightening experiences with severe allergy attacks; I carry an epi-pen and take meds daily. When you can’t breathe you can see your mortality up close and personal, no one should make light of it. Natural does not necessarily mean better. People die from eating milk, eggs, shrimp, etc. However, one should seek allergy testing to make sure of what things you are actually allergic to, before giving up a product. Multi-ingredient products might have one or two factors that compromise someone’s health. In short, don’t cheat yourself out of a culinary delight because you think a one item is causing you grief. Arm yourself with knowledge and partake of what life has to offer.
CC November 13th, 2009 at 7:57 pmFor Crying Out Loud! This isn’t the place to discuss/cuss/or otherwise talk about allergies! Go to WebMd or some other health info site - not a breadmaking site. All I wanted to find out was how to make a soft loaf of sourdough bread for sandwiches in my breadmaker. Just because one person is allergic or has another similar problem, doesn’t mean we all do, and we don’t have to hear about it. Go to the experts - not the breadmaking site.
AB November 15th, 2009 at 11:13 amThe natural food sources for dough conditioners that I have tried in my bread machine include: vinegar (WOW!Really seems to help the natural gluten development as well as helps bread be softer, more tender); instant (dehydrated) mashed potatoes help bread to stay moist and soft longer, in a way seems to help bread to avoid becoming stale; gluten definitely helps whole wheat or other whole grain flours to make a loaf that is light & tall, whereas the same recipe made without additional gluten may be heavy, coarse, and unappealing; dry milk also helps with crust browning and flavor, but I did not know before reading this log that milk makes the dough easier to roll out. I would never have thought of adding cake flour to bread dough in order to make a more tender loaf, but it totally makes sense! Of course you would have to limit it to the small amount recommended, or the bread wouldn’t have enough gluten content to rise well. I want to try the ginger sometime, as long as I can remember it, LOL! I appreciate the tips to help us make better bread in our bread machines! (Or regular bread!)
Becky W. December 22nd, 2009 at 5:15 pmIwill share with you all my favorite bread recipe that my sister Liz Turpening created that I have adjusted for a bread machine. Our Mom has gall bladder disease and is on a very restricted diet that this bread is the base of. It is a pretty forgiving recipe and makes a loaf of homemade bread people will actually beg for! (Not kidding!)
Oatmeal Wheat Bread
Measure into a 4 cup measuring glass:
1 c. + 3 Tbsp. HOT water
1/2 c. oatmeal (doesn’t matter if original or quick)
2 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. molasses
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil (or vegetable oil of your choice)
1/4 tsp. vinegar
Measure these ingredients into your bread machine pan with the paddle already in it-
1 c. + 2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
1 c. white bread flour
1 Tbsp. instant mashed potatoes
1 Tbsp. gluten
2 tsp. yeast
Pour the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients and turn the bread machine on. I use the regular bread cycle, but you could use the whole wheat cycle if your machine has it. Watch while the dough is mixing, and if it looks too wet (if your whole wheat flour isn’t ground super fine, sometimes this will happen), add 1 Tbsp. of gluten or dehydrated mashed potato flakes and allow it to mix in to see if more is needed or not. Add more if needed, 1 tsp. at a time. If the dough looks too dry, add 1 tsp. of water at a time, letting it mix a bit to see if it needs more or not.
We sometimes will add 2 Tsp. of flax seed meal, or 2 Tbsp. powdered milk, or if I want to make cinnamon raisin bread, I will add 1 tsp. cinnamon, and when the bread machine beeps for adding more ingredients, I will add 1/2 c. raisins. We sometimes make this bread with all whole wheat flour instead of using the white bread flour. This recipe really does lend itself well to variations.
When the bread is done baking, remove it from the pan, and wrap it in a clean bath towel to cool completely. Letting it cool in the bath towel helps the crust to become softer. Particularly if you like the soft crust of storebought bread, this method is a great help! If you like a crisp, hard crust, just set the loaf on a cookie rack to cool. You can slice it while hot if you like, but it can make the loaf get squished a bit and the inside will be more likely to gum up where you cut it. If we want to eat it right away, I only slice the amount we will eat right then, then wrap the rest of the crust in the towel again. Try it, you’ll LOVE it! Happy Eating!
Becky in Lincolnton NC
Becky W. December 22nd, 2009 at 5:35 pmBecky, I’m going to try that recipe. Thanks for posting!
Gardenwife December 31st, 2009 at 12:37 amWhen I first met my wife more than 40 years ago, we attended the Texas/OU football game which is held at the State Fair of Texas. We decided to walk through the animal barns, as she’d spent a lot of time at 4H animal events when she’d been younger. I ended up getting my first lesson in asthma attacks when she turned blue from exposure to the we can only guess what in the dust being blown around in the barn. All of this is to say that I have a great deal of empathy for anyone who suddenly finds they can’t breath, and has a bit of a panic attack as they try to figure out what caused it.
So in the spirit of trying to help, I looked up the ingredients of three popular commercial Dough Enhancers, which all contained a subset of the list of ingredients above. It doesn’t take long to find that with the exception of ascorbic acid (taking Ginny’s post from March of 2009 as a factual reference), all of those ingredients are cheaply produced byproducts of raw foods (example: Lecithin is most commonly centrifuged out of soy oil or egg yolks). The point of this statement is that it’s unlikely that Earlene has reached adulthood without eating each and every one of the ingredients of the Dough Enhancer in larger quantities than would be found in a slice of bread or cinnamon roll.
I take the vitamin C/ascorbic acid as an example. If I use the recommended 1/8th teaspoon of ascorbic acid per loaf, and use the 14 slices of bread my wife gets with her whole wheat bread recipe, a slice of bread contains 0.04 mg of ascorbic acid/vitamin C. Now a list some common foods and their estimated vitamin C contents:
- 1/2 cup of Shredded Romaine Lettuce 5 mg
- 1/2 cup canned asparagus 9 mg
- 1/2 cup orange juice 43 mg
- 1 tablet One-A-Day multivitamin 60 mg
I would also point out that while I find reference to ascorbic acid allergies with a quick web search, I find that it is extremely rare and that the only symptom I find listed is sores in the mouth from what I understood was fairly large dosages. I’m no expert, but with the probable dose of less than a mg of ascorbic acid and symptoms that do not point to ascorbic acid as the source, I’d look elsewhere first.
Another quick search of the web finds an National Institute of Health paper that claims that 20 to 50% of allergic bronchial asthma issues result from food allergies. That says while Earlene was not off-base by looking into what she had eaten recently, but that she should also be looking at airborne allergy sources as well as an airborne source is slightly more likely than a food source.
I’m guessing Earlene isn’t the only person that found this site as a wonderful resource, and that the reason they came here is that they like knowing what is in the food they eat. I, for one, hope that she finds baking for herself rewarding and maybe even help her avoid whatever food allergy she may have.
By the way, my wife is already having fun experimenting with coming up with her own version of dough enhancer with ingredients already on hand so she doesn’t have to order a commercial product online anymore! Thanks for the excellent article!
Doug January 4th, 2010 at 2:04 pmI’ve personally dealt with anxiety attacks my whole life. It started when I was just a child and I’ve had to deal with them since then. I found a solution that has helped me get them done once and for all. I will tell you that it wasn’t quick or easy, but after a while I was able to finally get rid of them. I’m back on track and its like I’ve started a new life not having panic attacks. I also saw a Dr. Oz special a few days ago, sometimes it isn’t a panic attack that is the root of the problem, I’d also recommend talking to your doctor. I wish you the best!
Thora Fabus January 23rd, 2010 at 5:10 pmEarlene you may have a corn allergy that caused your reaction. Most ascorbic acid used in products these days is derived from corn, because it’s so cheap and plentiful.
My wife has corn and wheat intolerances, so we have to be extremely careful with her diet. When ascorbic acid began showing up in lots of food products, even organic and natural ones, we were a bit suspicious of it’s source. Most resposible companies will tell you what their ingredients are derived from so you may want to ask.
There are so many hidden things in our food these days that it is almost impossible to keep track of ingredients, what they are or what they are derived from. This is a very important issue for those with true life-threating allergies or even mild intolerances.
Bill Morrison January 30th, 2010 at 4:31 pmDo you dissolve the gelatin before adding to bread dough?
TOM February 18th, 2010 at 10:54 pmOr do we add it dry.
TOM February 18th, 2010 at 10:55 pmUnreal..what a bunch of crap from a bunch of California helpless liberals. Plumb helpless Obama lovers that couldn’t take a crap by themselves. That is why this country is going down the tubes…helpless fat ladies and the “men” that support them instead of telling the to shut the hell up and get off their lazy asses. I wanted to learn something to help my bread not to listen to worthless Americans that are just leaches and could take care of themselves if the power was off for an hour. Amazing, disgusting and plain unbeleiveable what this country has come to. No it is SAD…very sad. Someone needs to make some bread sticks for Earlene so her husband knows where to stick um!!
Robert Culbreth March 9th, 2010 at 3:02 amWow. I am not sure why I had the stamina or the lack of good sense to get to the end of the comments. At least half were way off topic. However, I appreciate the advice about making my own dough enhancer. The only thing I am wondering about is whether I actually want the effect that the dough enhancer gives. It sounds like the bread will rise more and be soft like store-bought bread. This does not sound like something I would want to make; “tastes like store-bought”. I want a bread that is stronger and chewier. Are there enhancers that will give me more of these traits?
richard April 1st, 2010 at 2:40 pmI have a good guess the original poster wasn’t allergic to ascorbic acid but more likely was allergic to CINNAMON. Cinnamon allergy can cause anaphylaxis
Dan Adams April 7th, 2010 at 7:52 amwhich is a potentially lethal allergic reaction. I am extremely allergic to cinnamon and have to avoid it like some people have to avoid peanuts. So many other food products contain ascorbic acid in one form or another that it would be impossible for her not to have had the allergy to ascorbic acid many times before. Many processed foods contain it. She will probably never see this post but it would probably be a good thing for her to determine what exactly she is allergic to. FWIW.
Thanks for the great info on dough enhancers. I keep hearing the term “Dough Enhancers” for bread but no explanation of what the enhancers do. While I don’t want commercial bread, I would like to stop making bricks instead of bread.
Holly August 6th, 2010 at 1:52 pmI keep heard the phrase “Dough Enhancers” along time ago and was amazed on how well these products work. I have been baking bread since I was 15 and I have always had problem proofing my dough. I found this cool bread proofer and use “Dough Enhancers” for the best baked bread.
Mark August 9th, 2010 at 1:55 pmYou know, I was doing further research into dough enhancers when I saw all of your comments…This discussion is much of what the corporate industry is depending on. UTTER Confusion.
I will not waste time trying to convince you all of the truth, but I will say this…just take a package of factory produced or “fresh baked research the issues for yourself ” goods from a “bakery” like Panera Bread and go online or into a library and. Our world is complex the things we can create in labs are not the same as what nature provides even if they do come from natural sources or ON THE SURFACE look like clones of the real thing.
To use an example of something other than vitamin C as an example of a “natural product” used in dough enhancers I ask you to consider Cysteine.
CYSTEINE is a “natural” ingredient derived from 2 main sources…
Yvette August 15th, 2010 at 1:27 pmHUMAN HAIR and Duck Feathers.
Human hair is the preferred source because Cysteine can be found in higher quantities (as much 50% more) in our hair than in ducks feathers. Now outside of ingesting human hair you must consider just HOW the Cysteine is extracted.
Like ALL man derived “natural ingredients” there are many chemical processes needed to isolate the one component desired. Until you understand step by step how anything - including ascorbic acid - is created FOR Yourself not by way of a third party, you can never really understand the risks.
There is no money in us all refusing to eat processed foods.
These industries depend on our lack of understanding and more importantly our desire to just not want to accept that there may be a problem. The reality is most people do not want to make all their own food…most could not do it anyway. The truth is that sadly we really do not care… Even on this website many people are using bread makers rather than just going at it the old fashioned way… We want easy not better…the whole lifestyle of industrialized nations proves that.
Yvette August 15th, 2010 at 1:28 pmThe little things, like exactly WHAT is in Baking Powder - - is aluminum free baking Powder really any better…how is commercial yeast cultivated? Can you cultivate your own at home? Why just not use a splash of fresh squeezed orange juice or a little citrus zest from a piece of organic fruit rather than “man-made” vitamin C? And if we can’t do it with what the earth provides without tinkering with nature than maybe we are better off without it? Maybe there is a reason nature is the way it is that is beyond our understanding.
Allot of the things in the original article I liked, such as the idea of using ginger and eggs…but when it comes to using things that need chemicals or processing practices to extract the “natural ingredient” I BEG you all to think twice…
One more example that is easy to grasp is corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup…did you know you need protection to handle the chemicals used to create the process in which the sugar from corn (which nature never intended to be isolated) can be isolated. You can make high fructose corn syrup at home but I doubt you would want to after finding out what you need to do it.
Research it for yourself…
It is the same and it is not the same… It is natural in that nothing on this earth is really man made as we can create nothing new persay — AND it is not natural in that if you and I cannot access it without a lab, a batch of chemicals, and processing then nature has little to do with it past providing the source.
PLEASE just really RESEARCH THESE THINGS FOR YOURSELF.
Lets not argue about them here…it is a waste of time and nothing has been learned but that we all know little to nothing about our own food and have become slaves to our own ignorance and a few wealthy humans greed and insanity.
Yvette August 15th, 2010 at 1:29 pmOkay…
A few of you mentioned CANCER. Potassium Bromate is found in much processed bread.
Potassium Bromate is known to cause cancer…
It is outlawed all over the world…
Just not in the U.S.
Yvette August 15th, 2010 at 1:41 pm