Not sure I find stack of this in supermarkets but looks like it is for bread machines to improve the shelf durability and give some srping to the sandwich bread
Don't use it since I make crusty loaves

Typically dough improvers are blends of diastatic malt (feeds the yeast and adds sweetness), vital wheat gluten (increases gluten content to make the dough stretchier, esp. for rye breads), potato flour (makes crumb smoother and silkier), and possibly flavours (e.g. the characteristic rye sour flavour). If purchased from a reputable baking source these will all be natural ingrediants, and many recipes call for them anyway (e.g. Rose Levy's Levy Rye Bread). They can change the flavour and characteristics of the bread though so you will want to check the ingrediants list and do some testing.
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A few weeks ago, I purchased a kilo (it didn't come any smaller) Puratos Toupan A Bread Improver. It contains: starch, calcium sulfate, wheat flour, vitamin C, a-amylase (alpha-amylase) Add between 0.3 - 0,5 % on flour weight.

Well I tried some into my flour aiming at 0.4% and used my low gluten wheat flour (no egg). I didn't tell my husband, a true test. He cut one slice and asked, "What happened to the bread?" He disappeared with the end. He never touched the loaf again. It was wet, or very moist, with a stick together kind of crumb and there was a sweet acid like, presevative taste -- no more like smell. For 500 gm flour I used a level tablespoon. It now just sits there in the cupboard. I think I got my math wrong. Was that suppose to be 1/2 teaspoon? Mini Oven

I bought some bread improver early on in my baking life to help my whole-wheat loaves, but quickly decided to throw it away. I found that, so long as I used high-quality flour with high gluten content, I didn't need it. And one time, when I used it on a loaf that I'd prepared for a slow, all-day rise (1/4 tsp yeast and the dough left all day in a cool room) the dough just went limp. It was sad to see. No rise, no strength.

Maybe it does some good for folks who only have access to weak flours, but it never did me a whole lot of good.

You may be interested in Dan Lepard's comments re improvers at

http://www.danlepard.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=472

basically it is how to make soft baps using his home made improver

You really don't need bread improvers when baking at home. These are for commercial bakers to save time and maximise profit. I never use them and make way better bread than you can buy in a shop. Salt and water are the only things I add to flour.

Jim

I use bread improver.

I have been thinking lately that I'll try a couple of loaves with out it, but I am afraid to!

We buy homebrand/no name brand/cheap wholemeal flour. We can sometimes go through 3 kgs a week when I am in my baking height. (and eat alot of bread......so I am trying to cut down on how much I bake)  So at$5 a week we were getting quite a few loaves of bread.

We are kind of at a point in our lives when we are trying to save money and get ahead and buying cheap is one of the few things we are doing to achieve this.

I dont get as good a crust the next day with bread improver but I do get a good crumb. It makes it easier to get to reach the elastic stage when kneading, and I think with out it my cheap flour wont reach that stahe and I will have poor bread. :(  

I'll have to try it with out, and maybe buy less flour, but better brands.  I have never seen KA flour here in Oz though.

Jim isn't here any longer but his and 2 other kneading methods can be found at this link. I started with the slap and fold method Jim introduced here 2 years ago and have improved by a better, more aggressive hand mixing and kneading method demonstrated by Mr. Bertinet ant Gourmet Magazine. With a plastic scraper and bowl anyone can make wonderful well developed dough. More importantly you will quickly learn what the dough should look and feel like when it is "right". I would encourage you to watch the Bertinet video a few times and become proficient at his method. He is showing a sweet dough but it works with everything.

Hope this helps.

Eric

Thanks Eric, but it wasn't really the kneading so much as Jim's particular long rise. But thanks for the tip!

regards

Dan