Originally Posted by cheebahmunkey
so you recommend using wheat gluten? The onyl problem with that is my mother (I'm home from college) and I may have gluten sensitivity. Will the bread be inedible if we don't use the wheat gluten? Or is there anything we could substitute for the gluten?
I've found that vital wheat gluten is an essential ingredient when making whole grain bread. If you don't use it the bread will be much more dense and crumbly. However, if you are sensitive to gluten, you should probably stay away from wheat in general, and maybe use some of the "substitute grains" like spelt flour instead.
Btw, the dry milk powder in my recipe is totally optional. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't. A bit of milk powder helps in rising and it makes the bread a bit darker during baking, but you can easily just leave it out.