Posted by Suzanne McMinn on May 6, 2008 @ 5:05 am
Breads, The Farmhouse Table
I love your ideas. And so when Tracey suggested dough enhancer after I mentioned my trouble with 100% whole wheat bread, I had to learn all about it, research, and experiment. I am soooo picky about bread texture, especially with Grandmother Bread–but dough enhancer does make 100% whole grain bread lighter, to the point of achieving the “Chickens in the Road Seal of Approval” for use with Grandmother Bread. (Yes, I just made that up!) I baked 100% whole wheat Grandmother Bread with dough enhancer and 52 said, “What is that bread? I like it.” 15 came into the kitchen and made off with half a loaf. Success!
Using honey instead of sugar (as in Whole Grain Grandmother Bread), follow all the other directions, only use 100% whole wheat or other whole grain flours, and add dough enhancer for that perfect loaf of bread. You can buy dough enhancer, but it’s more frugal–and fun–to mix it yourself!
What goes into a dough enhancer? I settled on a combination of wheat gluten, lecithin, ascorbic acid crystals, pectin, gelatin, nonfat dry milk, and ginger. Wheat gluten improves the texture and rise of bread. Lecithin teams up with the gluten to make bread lighter. Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) helps the yeast work better. Pectin adds moisture, as does the gelatin. The dry milk helps the dough relax (man, who needs uptight dough?), and the ginger is another yeast booster (you won’t taste it in the finished product). Most of these are also preservatives, so they help keep your bread fresh longer, and they are all natural.
How to make Homemade Dough Enhancer:
1 cup wheat gluten
2 tablespoons lecithin granules
1 teaspoon ascorbic acid crystals
2 tablespoons powdered pectin
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
(Double or triple if you want to store up more at one time.)
Mix together and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I used an old jelly jar. For 100% whole grain breads, use 3 tablespoons per loaf. You can even add a teaspoon per loaf in white bread recipes. Add to your recipe along with the flour.
Happy whole grain bread baking!
P.S. Where did I get this stuff? If you have a great whole foods store nearby, you can find everything you need there. If not, you can order online. I got the lecithin and wheat gluten from BulkFoods and the ascorbic acid crystals from OutletNutrition.
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7:49
am
Thanks! Can’t wait to try this - I had no idea enhancer would allow for 100% whole grain flour.
Another source, if anyone needs one - for all kinds of bread/dough/flour/special ingredient stuff - probably not the cheapest but fun to look at and they also have their proprietary mixes for those days that get out of hand…
http://www.kingarthurflour.com
and from my home state: http://www.wheatmontana.com
Wheat Montana has flours, grains and mixes but no specialty ingredients.
8:08
am
Yum. How’s Lucky and the gang?
8:14
am
Wow…..I had no idea you could mix up dough enhancer your self. I can’t wait to try this!
8:21
am
8:54
am
I just love that I never know what it is I’m going to find here on any given day. This makes me want to make bread.
:J
9:01
am
Man that bread looks yummy. I would make some if I knew how to bake. Mine would come out looking and tasting like a brick.LOL
9:21
am
I wish you lived closer. I’m too lazy to do this but I’m hungry.
11:14
am
wow, who knew? I hope this will help my homemade wheat bread. Which is just a little, well, you know. Whole wheaty. Not nearly as yummy as my white dough. I’m going to try this!
11:39
am
Look at you! Makin’ your own dough enhancer. I would LOVE to try this, but we have a child with a severe dairy allergy (what milk protein does to this kid is SCARY) so I am milk-free in all my baking.
But I’m so glad you found a way to do this stuff yourself. It’s ALWAYS better to make your own, IMO.
11:59
am
Amy, you could experiment and mix up your own combination without the dry milk!
1:00
pm
I don’t bake, but my mom makes homemade bread almost every day.
She can’t wait to try this and I get to be the taste tester! 
2:03
pm
The bread looks delicious!
2:47
pm
How COOL is THAT?! This will save me $7.95 (as is written on the lid of my dough enhancer) about every 2 months!! Thanks so much. I was JUST at my local bulk for store today, as a matte of fact.
ALSO…your readers might want to know that you get more bang for your buck if you refrigerate it.
Blessings from Ohio…
5:20
pm
Tho I’m a decent cook, I can’t bake for the LIFE of me!
5:43
pm
Wow, Suzanne, thanks! I have wanted to try this stuff for a long time, but was too frugal, (pronounced “cheap”) to buy the little can for $7.95 plus shipping. Especially since, if I liked it, I’d want it again.
Now if you can come up with a recipe for “Pizza dough enhancer”, like that sold at KAF, I will be forever in your debt!
10:15
pm
That was a wonderful tip, and one I hope to use soon. I like to make bread and it’s so much nicer than the commercial stuff I buy at the store. Thanks so much. xxoo