Does breadmaker bread need to include milk powder?

Question

I'm trying to make vegan bread but all of my bread maker machine's recipies have one or two tablespoons of milk powder. What is a vegan solution?

Answer 1

A basic bread is

• flour
• water
• yeast or sourdough
• (salt)

With these base ingredients, just by varying flour type, ratios and preparation method, you already get a wide range of breads, whether made by hand, kneaded in a mixer or dumped in a bread maker.

Extra ingredients influence the crumb texture and / or the taste of your bread. Including some fat, for example, makes the crumb "fluffier", using milk instead of or in addition to water gives finer pores and alters the taste a bit.

If all recipes that came with your bread maker include milk powder, I'd assume this to be a quirk of the author, not a necessity. I'd simply leave it out. You could add a teaspoon or so of vegan fat, but I don't think it's essential, especially if your recipe already has some.

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Feel free to ask more specific questions, if the results aren't what you'd want them to be.