Are you ready to help your bread rise into high, billowy, beautiful loaves? Our grandmothers knew that certain ingredients helped bread dough rise faster and higher, have a better texture, and keep longer. These things still work well today!
If your bread doesn’t rise as high as you’d like read on!
One of the most frequent questions people ask me when it comes to baking bread is how I achieve those big, fluffy loaves. It’s not really a secret – I do what commercial bakeries do.
Dough enhancer.
Dough Enhancers Will Help Your Bread Rise Higher
There are a lot of reasons bread doesn’t rise to its full potential, so to speak, but one way to ensure that gorgeous high rise loaf is a dough enhancer. Commercial bakeries use it for a reason.
Now, I am not telling you to use bunch of chemicals that you dump into the dough mixture. There are lots of natural ingredients that help your bread achieve that gorgeous shape that you are looking for. Here are some of my favorite ingredients to make your dough rise higher. You can use one of them or combine several. Take some time to try them to see what works for you.
Ginger? Yes please!
Ginger
I first learned about adding 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger from an ancient cookbook. Old cookbooks are one of my addictions and I found this one in a second hand store. That was back when I first started baking bread in 1974. The note to add ginger was handwritten in the flyleaf so I tried it – and loved the result.
Ginger is still my favorite additive when I bake bread. The spice boosts the yeast like that first cup of coffee hitting you in the morning, if you know what I mean. The yeast gets more active much more quickly. Add 1/4 teaspoon of ginger in with the water when you are first proofing the yeast to help your bread rise higher and fluffier.
By the way? Prior to my posting a bread recipe with ginger in the ingredients list back in 2006 there were virtually NO bread recipes on the internet with ginger as an ingredient.
Yay me.
Potato Water
The next time you boil potatoes don’t salt the water. When the potatoes are done save that cloudy water in a Mason jar tightly covered in the fridge. Then, when you are ready to make your fluffy loaf of bread, warm the potato water to 110F and use it in place of the water in the recipe (in equal measure).
This works well to help your bread rise because of the potato starch in the water. The starch encloses the gas bubbles in dough and strengthens them. That makes your bread rise lighter and higher. Of course it also gives a pleasant flavor and I feel good about being as frugal as my grandmother was!
Don’t keep potato water more than a few days, though. It sours and can really smell up your kitchen.
Wheat Gluten
Wheat gluten is present in all wheat flour and it is the substance that gives the dough that elastic feel. It strengthens the dough and holds the gas bubbles produced by the yeast and to make the bread rise higher.
You can buy vital wheat gluten, which is just the gluten. Substitute 1 tablespoon gluten for 1 tablespoon flour in each cup of flour for whole wheat bread and about half that for white. So, if your recipe calls for 8 cups whole wheat flour you’ll remove 1/2 cup of the flour and add 1/2 cup of gluten. Add with the flour.
If you’re making pizza dough or Italian bread you can add about 1 1/2 tablespoons per cup of flour to give your bread that chewier texture.
Dry Milk Powder
Adding 2 tablespoons instant dry milk powder per loaf of bread will help your bread rise higher, stay soft, and hold the moisture longer. That means it won’t get stale as quickly. Dry milk powder creates a more golden brown crust and improves nutrition, too.
Add it with the flour.
Vitamin C Powder
Don’t use this in your artisan type breads that have a coarser crumb but it will help sandwich loaves have a soft crumb — especially good when it comes to wheat breads. The acid of the vitamin C helps the yeast to work better and also acts as a preservative by deterring the growth of mold and bacteria. I toss the contents of a bottle of vitamin C tablets in the blender, turn them into a powder, and then store it in a Mason jar. I use 1/8 teaspoon per loaf of bread, adding it in with the flour.
Homemade Dough Enhancer Mixture
Yeah I know. More than 5 ingredients to help your dough rise because this is number six. Let’s think of it as a bonus, ok?
If you want to take the time to make a homemade dough enhancer mixture this one is pretty good. Store it tightly covered in the refrigerator.
- 1 cup wheat gluten
- 2 tablespoons lecithin granules
- 1 teaspoon vitamin C granules
- 2 tablespoons powdered fruit pectin
- 2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
- 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
Mix together and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Add 3 tablespoons for each loaf of bread a recipe makes and it works like a charm.
Other Possibilities
There are other additives you can use, of course. In addition to the ones mentioned above people add dried potato flakes, lecithin, vinegar or a variety of other ingredients. I tend to stick with those listed here because in the 41+ years I’ve been making bread they haven’t let me down!
Resources
The following are affiliate links. If you click through and buy I get a small commission that helps to support the blog. Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle.
Just about a year ago I wrote and published a bread making book, Bread Bootcamp: It’s Not a Cookbook…It’s an Adventure
I am currently working on a follow-up book but that’s a few months out. If you are serious about learning to bake bread this is the book to get.
Gluten flour is available almost everywhere but I often get mine on Amazon because it’s just so darn convenient. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Flour
If you liked these bread baking tips you may also like…
Yeast Bread Baking Tips Part 1 and Part 2
Yeast Bread Baking Troubleshooting
Hello & thanks for the wonderful ideas.
Can these work with sourdough as well…?
Some of them yes. I wouldn’t use anything with an acid in it like the vitamin c powder or the homemade dough enhancer. The rest should work just fine.
was so happy to see your site i too live in n.texas and have visited west on our way to and from a&m. there food is awesome i just wish i lived closer but then my waistline i dont think would.
🙂 My son’s at A&M this year so I expect I’ll be visiting West often. 😉
I love your ideas. I’ve been trying to bake a gf loaf. I am trying to get a bit more of a rise out of it. And it goes very crumbly after a day or two
Any suggestions
Gluten is the protein that makes bread rise light and fluffy.. You might try substituting 1/4 cup whey protein powder that’s gf for 1/4 cup of the gf flour. let me know how it works.
your tips are very wonderful. please can I use ginger and vitamin c powder at same time
Yes, you can. 🙂
Do you use just one at a time or use all five together? Thanks for the explanations and tips.
I use one or two at a time. 🙂 You’re welcome
Thank you. Bread turned out great using lecithin and ginger, was amazed.
Wow, thank you so much!
I hope it helps!
I notice your bread is in glass bread pans. Do you recommend baking in glass? Are you recipes for bread taking into account you are baking in glass?
I prefer heavy materials like glass or cast iron for bread. I don’t take the glass/ metal pans into consideration because I haven’t found there’s much difference in the bread either way. I think glass makes the crust on the sides a little crisper.
Amazing post! Just a quick question, do you add 1/4 teaspoon of ginger per loaf? or per how many loaves?
for anywhere from 1 to 4 loaves….:) If you are making more than four you might want to add a pinch more.
I wouldn’t have guessed that you can use ginger to get the bread to rise higher. I’m not much a baker myself but if I ever try to attempt myself, I’ll make sure to try using ginger. Does this work for all types of bread like biscuits or potato buns?
Yes. It just helps the yeast a bit…. energizes it.
Thanks for sharing these awesome tips! 🙂
Going for the Honey Buttermilk Bread today!
How did it come out?
So good and fluffy!
Great with Nutella of course :-D.
Of course!
My wife shared your face book post for your Honey Buttermilk bread. I would not call myself a professional baker by a lony lony stretch, but I do bake and sell breads at our local farmers markets. I tried the recipe for the Honey Butter milk and my loafs turned out almost exactly like yours. ( so often recipes I try don’t seem to work just right) After reading out the ginger tip I thought I remembered my grandmother using that trick. I looked back at her old cook book and sure enough there it was in her bread recipe. Thanks for all the tips.
Thanks Steven! That’s so cool!
I have never heard of using ginger to help the bread rise. These are great tips. Your bread looks so good.
Thank you so much!
Awesome tips! I’ve been baking bread and teaching bread baking for decades and haven’t encountered some of these.Looking forward to trying them all. Thanks for the great article! 🙂
It’s one of the reasons I love those old cookbooks!
Thank you for these tips! I had never heard of adding ginger!!
Thanks for reading!
Dear Marye, what a great article!! Thank you for sharing these tips…love the idea of adding ginger…I have to give some of these a try next time. xo, Catherine
let me know what you think
I have always wanted to make my own bread but have yet to actually try it. Your loaves look beautiful and I am loving these tips. I might just have to try my hand at it!
You should!
This is such a wonderful post Marye, I hadn’t heard of three of these – especially cool on the ginger! Stumbled and pinned 🙂
Yep! That is from an 1880’s cookbook!!
Great post Marye! I love to bake bread. I have found over the years that many bakers I know are afraid of yeast. My mom and sisters are. And I’m not sure why. I am the one always chosen to make the rolls and bread for holidays, and I don’t mind a bit. But I think your tips might put the fears of those who are yeast averse to rest. I didn’t know about the ginger, potato water or vitamin C. I always learn so much here. I often add granulated soy lecithin to my bread and not only does it add nutrients, but keeps the bread fresh for much longer. Thanks for this great post!
I love baking bread. I’ve used lecithin, too… 🙂