Responding to: flaberge@magi.com (F. J. Laberge)
FJL> I have a question : what is bread improver and what is its
FJL> chemical name, where can it be purchased?
FJL> If I understand correctly, it is supposed to make the bread softer
FJL> and with finer texture.
Bread imrpover typically consists of diastatic malt and ascorbic acid.
Both enhance the action of the yeast. The malt is a sugar, yeast needs
sugar to grow and produce the carbon dioxide which makes the bread rise.
Yeast lives best in a slightly acetic environment. A small amount of
ascorbic acid changes the envirnment just enough to make the yeast
happy. That causes it to produce more carbon dioxide more reliably.
Joel