Ascorbic acid for bread making

[Gathorne]

Anyone know how much ascorbic acid you should add when making bread?

[Jugglering]

You don't have to add any at all but some recipe books do say that it makes a wholewheat loaf lighter in texture. It's usually already incorporated into fast action easy bake yeast (the dried stuff one uses in bread machines) but my bread machine booklet recommends an additional quarter teaspoon for 100% and 70% wholemeal loaves.

[Gathorne]

Thanks very much Jugglering. The Hovis sachets of yeast I was using did include yeast, but I'm now using a Dove's bag which is much cheaper, but doesn't have any ascorbic acid.

[Jugglering]

Ahhh, now I understand why you wanted to know ! Here's what Elizabeth David says in her book, "English Bread & Yeast Cookery"...

By increasing the proportion of yeast and adding a very small quantity of ascorbic acid as a dough-improver or maturing agent, fairly good bread can be made by the speeded-up or short-time method.... A recipe is then given which uses 25mg ascorbic acid, 675g flour, 30g fresh yeast, 15g salt and approx 3/4 pint water to give two small loaves.....

She notes that ascorbic acid (vitamin c) is not used for its vitamin values, which are destroyed during baking, but for its work as an oxidizing agent and its resultant maturing effect on the dough.... due to the complex chemical interaction between the ascorbic acid and the components of the dough.