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2:35 pm
July 2, 2011
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I found the recipe for dough enhancer and really like it. But I have a question. Why does it need to be refrigerated when all the ingredients are bought off the shelf and are not refrigerated? When combined, do some of the ingredients tend to deteriorate?
BTW, I'm new and having a blast on this site. I just joined the forum a few minutes ago!
7:10 pm
December 14, 2010
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I can't answer your question but have one of my own. After having been making bread with flour, water, salt and yeast for 50 years I wonder why does anyone needs dough enhancer?
7:41 pm
April 1, 2009
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Ross said:
I can't answer your question but have one of my own. After having been making bread with flour, water, salt and yeast for 50 years I wonder why does anyone needs dough enhancer?
Hi Ross–thank you!! I have wondered the same thing. I have been making bread for nearly the same amount of time, and heave never heard of dough enhancer until the last couple of years. You know what they say about fixing things that are not broken– 
8:34 pm
July 2, 2011
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I'm making my bread out of wheat that I'm milling myself. I'm not using any additional flour. It tends to be a heavier bread and the dough enhancer lightens it up some. I don't use it when I'm making bread with store bought white or wheat bread.
11:58 pm
October 17, 2008
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You really don't have to refrigerate it, it just helps it keep longer. When opened, all (or most) of the ingredients deteriorate by themselves.
I don't refrigerate it. I use it fast enough before it has a chance to deteriorate.
It's great to use for whole grain breads. By themselves, whole grain breads just don't have enough gluten to make a great loaf…or one you'd get using white flour.
7:13 am
July 2, 2011
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Thanks so much! My first loaf was real heavy and dense. So I started hunting on the Internet for a fix. I found this wonderful site. The dough enhancer helped a lot! I hope to spend lots and lots of time here! I have lots of reading to do on this site.
9:40 am
December 14, 2010
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You get a better loaf if you use some bread flour mixed with the ww flour. Also you might find that you get good result if you mix 2/3 of your ww flour with all of the liquid and half of the yeast on the day before you make the bread, cover the bowl with plastic and allow it to ferment over night. It does two things , it brings out the flavor of the wheat and it grows a lot of yeast. The next day add the rest of the yeast ,the salt and the flour, shortening if you use it and proceed as normal.
10:19 am
December 28, 2008
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No, dough enhancer is not absolutely necessary for the making of bread, even whole wheat bread. But, it contains nothing I don't want to consume, so it really helps to produce a consistent loaf, especially for those of us who like to grind our own wheat.
Another option is to just add some gluten when using all home ground or whole wheat flour.
The best benefit I have found from using dough enhancer is that even when the rise developes when using all whole wheat flour, the loaves have a tendancy to fall before they are fully cooked. Not always, of course, but enough of the time that I now prefer to add some dough enhancer to keep that from happening. The final loaf is still much more dense than "regular" light bread, but not like a brick!
All we can encourage folks to do is experiment with the different possibilities until they find what works best for them, in their homes, with the add-ons that they are wiling to put into the process. Sometimes some "short-cuts" are OK! Even if you don't use them all the time, it's good to know about them when you need them.
Like – I really prefer the taste of the slow development over a couple of days method that Ross is describing. But, there are many days when I need the bread right now, or in a few hours, so use methods that will still produce an acceptable loaf in that time frame. Or when doing something like sweet rolls where I really want the bread part to be more light and delicate.
It's all good!
11:17 am
February 10, 2009
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We all have our own ways of bread baking, and our own reasons for them. Whether it's due to climate, altitude, type of flour, needs of the day, using dough enhancer is a perfectly reasonable option.
Learning to use it as a helper while working on learning other methods of bread making isn't wrong. Using the dough enhancer doesn't mean anything is broken, it's just another method in our arsenal of kitchen tools, tricks and methods. For me, I've used it a lot and feel as if I'd like to say that I use the dough enhancer and it works so well for me, why try to mess with it! If my bread ain't broke using the enhancer, why fix it?
To be fair though, I do try other methods just because I'm a curious cook. Most of the time for my favorite loaves, (which do involve whole wheat flour) I add the dough enhancer. There's no stigma to using a fantastic option that is available for me as a helper.
3:32 pm
December 14, 2010
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There are many ways to make bread and if you and your family are pleased with the methods you use then that is a perfect method.
If you are trying a new recipe it may be less than satisfactory the first few times you try it. Applying you skills and knowledge may solve the problems you have with it or the contributor of the recipe may have different standards for what is an acceptble loaf. In any case if the recipe seems promicing then use what ever will make it good for your standards.
8:08 pm
May 14, 2005
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Dough enhancer ingredients add preserving power and rising/lightening. This is helpful especially when making whole grain breads. I don't use dough enhancer a lot because I mostly prefer white breads. (Just me.) If you're not going to use it quickly, refrigeration extends the life of the dough enhancer. Gluten is really important in rise. Wheat and other grains have less of the gluten you find in straight white flour. Long rises, and especially sourdough, help, but not everyone wants to do that or has time to do that. Dough enhancer is a great helper.
10:08 pm
March 4, 2010
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The gluten needs to be developed in home ground flour if you aren't adding additional gluten/dough enhancer. I was able to get a light and fluffy loaf using whole wheat (store bought) flour without any additional enhancers except for some whey from my cheese making, and one that would rival a dough enhanced bread. It did take some trial and error and research before I achieved that, and it was an interesting journey to get to that point. I learned an awful lot about bread and how everything works together. I was extremely pleased with the results in the end.
If you wish to not use bought gluten/dough enhancer, you can make your own gluten if you want to do the work. I have not done it at this point because I can't fathom rinsing so much goodness from the flour down the drain. It is basically working the flour with some water, rinsing it with cold water, and repeating until you have a mass of sticky, sort of rubbery substance. This is the gluten, which you can then add to your bread.
My family prefers the bread that I make from home ground wheat. I do have to work it from 7-10 minutes each kneading (2 times), not adding additional flour, but using cold water to keep it from sticking to my hands. If you are willing to try this, you will find that it gets increasingly more sticky and will stick to itself better. It takes a lot of effort, but it will teach you the feel of gluten forming. I would suggest doing it with a small amount of dough first, as you do get quite a workout. When I bake it, I have a pan of water in the oven for steam, bake it at 400*F, and bake it for 40 min. Artisan breads are often baked at very high temperatures, and with steam.
**I learned just recently, if you want a really good rise on anything…bread, muffins, etc., that you turn up the heat for the first 5-10 min, then turn it to the regular temp. This will let out a puff of steam, enhancing the rise, and sealing the outside.**
Lately, because of less time due to a baby, I have been making no knead ciabatta. It is simple and undemanding. When the baby is older, I will incorporate a bit more that I have learned through making this kind of bread into my own recipe. For me, the experimenting never ceases. I enjoy it a lot! :)
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