Texture Enhancement

• Ingredients such as soy lecithin and saturated monoglycerides are emulsifiers. Emulsifiers strengthen the dough, allowing it to trap more air as it rises, producing a lighter, more airy structure. Emulsifiers also contribute to increased shelf life.

  Most sandwich bread recipes call for eggs, which are a natural emulsifier. They help to lighten the bread and give it enough structure to support a long yeast rise. Bread doughs emulsified with eggs are slightly tougher than those using soy lecithin and other commercial emulsifiers. If you want to experiment with soy lecithin, it is available to home bakers in many health and natural food stores. Follow the instructions on the package to determine how much to use in your recipe.

Improved Efficiency

• Bakers use 75 parts per million of L-asorbic acid, or vitamin C, as an oxidizer. This strengthens the gluten in the wheat flour, allowing it to withstand mechanical kneading without breaking down. Reducers, such as L-cysteine, shorten mixing times, making the baking process more efficient.

  Overworking is not usually a concern for home bakers who knead by hand or in a stand mixer. A few grains of vitamin C will guard against overworking, and will not affect the flavor of your bread. Deactivated yeast is a natural substitute for chemical reducers.

Uniform Size and Shape

• Commercial bakers use a variety of enzymes that interact with sugars and yeast to produce a predictable rise and oven spring in every loaf. Consumers expect uniformity from commercial bread products, and these enzymes enable bakers to meet that expectation.

  Homemade loaves often take on a rustic quality when they are not perfectly shaped. This is not a problem, because most people do not expect a home baker to produce dozens of uniform loaves.

Natural Alternative to Bread Conditioners

• If you prefer to avoid additives, you can still achieve many of the benefits of bread dough conditioners by incorporating a preferment into your bread recipe. Commercial bakers use bread conditioners because they are faster, not necessarily because they produce a higher-quality bread.

  A preferment is a small quantity of basic dough that is allowed to rise, or ferment, for several hours. This dough is incorporated into the main bread dough to strengthen the gluten, improve texture and increase shelf life by increasing acidity. The most common prefermented bread is sourdough, although you can use the preferment technique with any bread recipe. Most preferments are not as acidic as sourdough, and do not drastically alter the flavor of the bread.