Lemon or white vinegar as a dough conditioner

I don' think that they are necessary. Dough improvers as we can buy them usually contain some/all of the following: vital wheat gluten, powdered milk, diastatic malt, lecithin and ascorbic acid. Retail brands of flour usually already contain malt and ascorbic acid; many bread recipes call for milk, eggs and oil, all of which condition and add loft and tenderness to dough. Why add more? I sometimes use ascorbic acid and/or diastatic malt for occasions where I am really pushing my dough to the limit with long fermentation or proof. Because I use an organic flour, my flour has no diastatic malt or ascorbic acid added as the retail brands do. But generally one can overcome any problems by experimenting with flour and finding out what it can or can't do, choosing the right flour for the job and using good technique. I believe that most problems that home bakers encounter are the result of either a too dry dough or underdeveloped gluten and both problems can be solved by experience and technique. It seems that users of bread machines have more problems achieving good results, but I don't have a bread machine so I don't know if the problems are related to a special need resulting from the use of the machine or if the user just doesn't understand the ingredients, measurements etc. Janet

We agree on all points.

Excellent!