The Master Ingredient List

Here is some ingredient tips, suggestions, and hints:

Yeast:

Yeast is what creates all the little bubbles in your bread and makes it rise. I use SAF yeast. Instant yeast is superior to active dry yeast because you can mix it directly into the flour without soaking or proofing. It is sold in these 1 lb bags that I stick in my freezer until I need to open it up. It's cheap, too, maybe $3 a bag. Once open I put it in an air tight container and keep it in the fridge. Sometimes instant yeast is marketed as "rapid rise" because it's more efficient than active dry.

Dough Enhancer:
What is Dough Enhancer? It's a little bit of everything. A little protein for "chew", a little ascorbic acid (vitamin C) for shelf life, ginger for yeast "food, pectin for moisture, and other stuff, too. All you really need to know is that it makes for good bread that will last more than an afternoon. You can make your own. Here's a pretty good recipe:
1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
2 cups wheat gluten
2 teaspoons powdered ginger
4 tablespoons dry pectin
4 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
4 tablespoons soy lecithin granules
1 tablespoon ascorbic acid crystals

But it's easier just to buy some. Store it in the fridge after opening.

Salt:
This really isn't necessary in baking, just my opinion. Most salt you buy is white because it goes through harsh bleaching and refining. Real Salt is mined and and sold sans processing, additives or chemicals with all the natural minerals in tact. It is good stuff, but more expensive. BTW, salt slows yeast fermentation which is why in some old bread recipes or if you make a sponge, the salt is added later. Salt also is partially responsible for the crust darkening. Salt also holds moisture so it is a preservative. (I like getting technical with bread, if you haven't noticed)

Vital Wheat Gluten:
So is a protein, actually two, that creates that elastic mesh that makes risen breads possible. Think of bubble gum, yeast creates the air in the bubble, the gluten is the gum holding the air inside. Gluten is pretty important in bread. My whole grain flour has some grains that have a lot of gluten but some don't, so I add gluten flour to give it lots of rise and softness. This is great stuff to use no matter what kind of bread you are making, unless you have a gluten allergy. It looks like regular flour, just a bit finer and with a yellowish tint. I don't know what the shelf life is on this stuff.

Powdered Milk:
For drinking, Morning Moo is the best I have tasted thus far. My kids drink it and we use it on a regular basis.