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ON THE consumer side, not everyone wants the stickiness or moistness of, say, focaccia bread, especially when consumption is meant for spreads or soups or dishes that don’t go well with such bread textures. For commercial bakers, stickiness is not even an option. Machines in the production line could clog up with sticky dough that in turn causes lengthy stoppage and even a day’s downtime. Food chemists tend to address issues, such as stickiness as well as dough textures, with improved enzymes.
Softer wheat-mix bread
The POWERBake? 9500 from the DuPont? Danisco? range tries to meet these concerns, specifically for making wheatmix dough, which can get very sticky. Such dough also has limited proofing stability. This new enzyme targets fewer breakdowns and less waste during production.
The product also answers a real need amongst bakers who wish to improve the texture of their dough in order to deliver softer and more appealing breads at the end of the production line. The efficiency of this enzyme is down to the synergistic mix of a special cellulase blend and hexose oxidase.
Drier, more tolerant dough
Stickiness is overcome through the ability of the cellulase to modify the water absorption properties of rye and whole wheat flour, making dough less likely to clog up the line and stop production.
The other important role of the hexose oxidase is to make the dough more tolerant of variations in proofing time. So, when a breakdown does occur, bakers win more time for repairs – with less risk of wasting an entire batch due to the collapse of overproofed dough.
Critical minutes
“The extra proofing stability extends the time window for repairs from five to 15 minutes. When working with dough that is normally intolerant of proofing variations, just a few minutes can make all the difference between the success or failure of the batch,” said Frank Schuhmann, bakery application specialist at DuPont Nutrition & Health.
The combined action of the enzymes in POWERBake 9500 has the additional benefit of improved crumb softness and a better bread shape.
“The softness improvement is something of an unexpected gain as, used alone, hexose oxidase is known to have a firming effect on bread crumb. This is one area where the synergies of the enzyme combination really stand out,” Mr Schuhmann said.
On the other hand, the POWERBake 9000 that contained only the cellulase blend was targeted at reducing dough stickiness alone. It was discovered that its combination with the oxidase blend also provides a crumbsoftening benefit.
The two enzyme products in the POWERBake 9000 range are part of the latest bakery campaign launched by DuPont in its sales region covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The power of lecithin powder
The lipid specialist Sternchemie, meanwhile developed a lecithin powder to enhance dough and improve the characteristics of the baked goods, including shelf life. In small amounts, these lecithin powders called SternFlow, can enhance dough elasticity and a dough batch’s ability to hold gas.
Lecithin is important in baking as it offers higher yield, longer freshness and crispier breads. Whilst used as an emulsifier, lecithin can stabilise the gluten structure of the flour and boosts the elasticity of the gluten network, so the dough is easier to process. This same function is supported by the improved distribution of fat and water in the ingredients when it comes as a powder.