05/11/2026
Important read!
If you bake with fresh milled flour I highly recommend buying these two baking ingredients.
Here is why:
Lecithin: Lecithin is an optional ingredient often included in yeast bread recipes that use freshly ground whole grains. Lecithin is actually a group of compounds known as phospholipids, which occur naturally in any unrefined food that contains fats. Lecithin is an emulsifier of fat, meaning that it contains all the vital nutrients needed to break down fats in the body, which allows them to be absorbed and used. Grains, beans, nuts, seeds and eggs naturally contain lecithin.
In the food industry, lecithin is used as an emulsifier to help keep oils in suspension (as in salad dressings) and to give a smooth texture to high-fat foods, such as margarine and chocolate for candy. In baking, lecithin emulsifies the oils used in the dough, creating a smoother, less sticky result. This gives bread a softer, smoother texture.
Lecithin is typically used only in yeast breads. It tends to give breads made with freshly ground flour a softer, more āstore-boughtā texture. āDough enhancerā and ārice bran extractā are other names for lecithin products sold for use in baking. Including these products is always optionalāperfectly soft bread can be made from freshly ground homemade flour without them.
Vital wheat gluten: Gluten is the stretchy substance that forms when flourāparticularly wheat flourāis mixed with water. As noted elsewhere, grains technically do not contain gluten. They have the potential to form gluten, depending on the components of the protein portion of the grain (endosperm). Gluten, which develops during kneading, forms the structure of yeast bread, enabling it to rise and to stay risen during handling and baking. It also gives pizza dough its elasticity.
Vital wheat gluten is a pure gluten product. It is made by washing wheat-flour dough with water until all the starches dissolve. This process extracts the protein from the starch. The pure protein left behind is dried and powdered to make vital wheat gluten. Though it looks like flour, vital wheat gluten cannot be used like flour. Instead, it can be added in very small quantities to dough, providing the extra gluten often needed to support proper rising when baking with whole-grain flours. Vital wheat gluten can be particularly helpful when making bread with low-protein grains such as rye, spelt, Kamut or even a low-protein wheat.
People with wheat or gluten sensitivities should avoid adding vital wheat gluten to their breads. It is always an optional ingredient.
