Subject: Re: Bread Dough Conditioner ? Ovenspring
From: mannj@southern.co.nz (Jay Mann)
Date: Sep 14 1996
Newsgroups: sci.bio.food-Science

D.F.S. (dfs@xmission.xmission.com) wrote:
: I have got a batch of what I beleive to be dough conditioner.: 
[snip] 
: 
: The main ingredient is ascorbic acid and had about 5 ingredients
: another one is az???carbo?????? something, calcium peroxide and 
: calcium something-else.
[snip] 
: Anybody used these things before?

Ascorbic acid is routinely used by commercial and many knowledgeable home 
bakers.  It acts as an oxidizing agent, by virtue of reacting with 
atmospheric oxygen, then in turn oxidizing the gluten of the dough.  
Gluten oxidation makes it easier to form the gluten network that you are 
striving for when you knead bread dough.  Calcium peroxide will obviously 
also act as an oxidant, with the same beneficial effects.

I always add ascorbic acid powder to my home bread doughs, even crushing 
up a commercial vitamin C tablet if needed.  Don't count on this to 
prevent scurvy, though, because there isn't any vitamin C left after the 
bread is baked.

Jay D Mann  <mannj@southern.co.nz>
Christchurch, New Zealand