Dough improver...um, help please

[LG Gone Wild]

You ladies advised me to get dough improver to help me make my bread more like store bought bread.

I only know of one place to get this stuff and that is King Arthur Flour. It is $10 a small bag and it is whole grain bread improver. I am just trying to make plain old white bread for sandwiches. Should I get this product? Is there another company to order from?

BTW, should I look into using potato flour. Basically, my family really likes the Sara Lee Homestyle/Hearty Potato bread. It is sturdy yet not heavy, soft, and sweet. It also lasts forever. How can I make my Zoirushi produce bread like that?

[JFS in IL]

are you using bread flour to begin with? Or at least added a touch of extra gluten?

[Amy in NH]

This is the recipe for dough enhancer that I got from someone here, and which I posted yesterday in another post about making bread at home:

DOUGH ENHANCER

1 cup nonfat dry milk
2 cups wheat gluten
2 teaspoons powdered ginger (you will not taste it)
4 tablespoons powdered pectin (in the canning supplies section of the grocery store)
4 tablespoons unflavoured gelatin
4 tablespoons lecithin granules (health food store)
1 tablespoon ascorbic acid crystals (Fruit Fresh -- in the canning supplies section)

Mix together in bowl and store in fridge (I store mine in a mason jar in the freezer). Use 2-3 tablespoons per batch of bread -- maybe a bit more....)

[KH_]

Here's my dough enhancer recipe - I ordered a 2lb bag of lecithin for around $8 (I think). I usually halve the recipe and have just been using ground up (in a mortar and pestle) chewable Vitamin C tablets.

4 cups powdered milk
3/4 cup lecithin
3 T vitamin C
2 T ginger
3 T cornstarch

I do add vital gluten separately to my recipe, too.

[LG Gone Wild]

are you using bread flour to begin with? Or at least added a touch of extra gluten?

It makes the bread too crumbly and dense. I got halfway to my goal when I switched to AP.

[Claire]

Gluten is used as a dough enhancer for breads. I have found it in grocery stores near the flour and baking mixes.