Anyone use a Bread Improver?

PennyGSD

I currently use a small amount of Wessex Mill Bread Improver in my Panasonic bread machine - we really like how the bread turns out with this and the bread stays soft much longer than without - but I've run out of my current bag.

I can order it from the Wessex Mill website, but it's over £5 for delivery on a £1.75 item. No local suppliers, and I can't find it anywhere else online.

Does anyone else use an alternative, with good results?

I know I don't HAVE to use it, but we just prefer it, so if anyone has used an alternative product and has also seen an improvement I'd be really interested.

I use a standard recipe - Yeast, Flour, salt, sugar, water and also chuck a 'glug' of olive oil in it already. After trial and error, we prefer Sainsbury's own bread flour, with a regular treat of 1/4 to 1/2 of the Taste the difference seeded flour.

Larumbelle

It sounds weird, but if I boil potatoes, I save the water they were boiled in and use that (cooled) in place of some or all of the water. If I don't have any, I use half a vitamin C tablet crushed up and added to the flour. Both worked fine for me (in the case of the potato water, I don't even bother with proper bread flour and just use plain it works so well) but I have never used 'proper' bread improver so can't say for sure whether either is as good as the real deal. But maybe these could be starting points to experiment with?

EDITED TO ADD: I have also heard people use a little potato flour and this is supposed to have a similar effect. But I have never tried it, so don't know amounts, and I'm not sure that it would work out any cheaper than proper bread improver.

PennyGSD

Great ideas. Thank you.

I don't often boil potatoes in the usual way, just microwave them if we're having new potatoes or parcook chips before throwing in the Actifry, but I can certainly save up the small amount of water each time and give it a go.

And nice to hear that someone's tried half a vit C tablet, as that's on the list to try too.