I discovered in a "kitchen chemistry" class at the science museum that the
function of the milk is to provide a protein to the cooking, which mostly
seems to determine the texture and consistency of the crust. Without the
milk, it's thick and chewy and hardly worth the effort.

What works for me is to substitute some wheat gluten for the powdered milk
that the recipe calls for. The result is a much more palatable crust. In my
first attempts, I noticed that the addition of extra gluten had the effect
of making the loaf larger. To handle this, I cut back slightly on the yeast
and the flour.


____________
Mark Feblowitz