Posted by Suzanne McMinn @ 5:05 am | Permalink
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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