Competitive ingredients overcome challenges of complex par-baking process

With annual EU sales growth tipped to reach 4.5% up to 2014, according to GIRA market research, par-baked bread is a valuable business proposition for the European bakery industry.

A collection of ingredient solutions from DuPont Nutrition & Health targets the specific fresh-keeping needs of par-baked bread after each of the two bakery processes prior to consumption. The solutions overcome some of the biggest par-bake challenges that bakers face, unlocks the potential of par-baked bread for Europe’s fast-growing, par-baked bread sector

Crisper, tender crusts
Amongst the core contributions is the capability to attain thin, tender crusts with longer-lasting crispness after the final bake-off. For bakers, this represents a victory over common crust defects, particularly the hard brittleness of white bread and leathery toughness of fibre bread.

DuPont Danisco enzymes, supported where necessary by lecithin, provide the solution.
“A rapidly deteriorating crust will result in a lot of unsold bread. Our aim is to extend the visual appeal and eating quality so bake-off outlets can increase their sales and reduce waste,” said Frank Schuhmann, bakery application specialist.

20-day ambient shelf life
Meeting another need, DuPont has run successful trials with a solution to extend the shelf life of bread stored at ambient temperature after the initial par-baking.  ‘POWERFresh’ Bread 9740 and ‘DIMODAN’ HP 45, ingredients from the DuPont Danisco range, maintain a soft, moist crumb with optimum resilience for up to 20 days.

“Par-baked bread involves quite different and complex processing challenges compared to conventional bread production. While extending shelf life, we have to maintain the bread’s appearance, stability and volume right through to and beyond the second baking. These are requirements that our package of par-baked solutions also tackle,” Mr Schuhmann explained.

More of DuPont’s par-baked knowhow and solutions in the latest issue of bakeryperformance.com, the online knowledge resource for the bakery industry

Through the work of the global network of food scientists and technologists in DuPont, the Danisco range is supported by a uniquely broad spectrum of know-how across applications and processing.