A dough conditioner is any ingredient or chemical added to bread dough to strengthen its texture or otherwise improve it in some way.
Examples of dough conditioners include ascorbic acid, monoglycerides and diglycerides, ammonium chloride, enzymes, DATEM, and calcium salts such as calcium iodate.
More natural dough conditioners include sprouted- or malted-grain flours, soy, milk, wheat germ, potatoes, gluten, yeast, and extra kneading. Malted, diastatic flours are not typically added by manufacturers to whole wheat flours. Robertson et al. point out that some of the better information is found in baking books published prior to the early 20th century, back during the times when bakers may not yet have acquired a kneading machine.[1]