Bakery products
Enzymes play an essential role in modern baking technology
Baked goods are widely consumed across Europe and form an integral part of our daily diet. They range from yeast-raised products such as bread, baguettes, rolls and pizza bases through to confectionary including cakes, muffins and cookies. For centuries, enzymes have acted as natural catalysts to help bakers get the best from their raw materials. Today, we demand even more from baked goods. Not only do they have to be healthy, we also expect them to taste fresh for several days and to look appetising: perfectly shaped, with a soft, elastic crumb structure and an appealing crust. In additon we expect that baked goods should accomplish all of this in the most natural way possible.
These days bakers also face a number of other challenges. Modern baking processes often involve machines and the production of large quantities. These bring their own demands: for example, wheat flour is a natural ingredient that fluctuates in quality. While this was not an issue for bakers in the past, modern millers and bakers need to guarantee a consistent quality to their customers. Baking enzymes help to address this alongside other challenges arising from commercial production - including delivering consistent baking results, maintaining sensory quality and increasing processing efficiency. Enzymes facilitate the production of natural, healthy, great tasting baking products - from flour and bread through to snacks and cake - so ensuring better food for everyone.
Benefits of baking enzymes at a glance
Consistent baking performance
Nowadays, if bakers and manufacturers are to secure a market for their goods, it is essential that they achieve consistent baking results. However, the properties of flour fluctuate from day to day due to natural causes like weather and soil conditions, and as a result of many other factors including temperature, humidity and manual handling by the baker. Strong baking expertise is required to overcome this and enzymes help to support the baker by adjusting a common deficiency in flour. This enables the desired volume, crust colour and crumb structure to be achieved in the final baked goods and also ensures consistent quality.
Long-lasting freshness
Consumers want bread that looks, tastes, and smells freshly baked - even after having been stored for some time. Consequently, bread often tops the list of avoidable food waste. Freshness can be particularly difficult to achieve in frozen and pre-baked products as well as in par-baked products that are baked twice and so lose moisture. Baking enzymes help address this: Some convert starch into glucose, which feeds the yeast and gives the bread better volume and crust colour. This allows baking times to be reduced with the result that less moisture gets lost during the baking process; Other enzymes can modify the starch structure to prevent the starch crystallisation process known as staling. In these ways, baking enzymes can improve bread’s natural freshness, ensuring that it stays soft and moist during storage and helping to reduce the amount that is wasted.
Higher dough stability
Baking enzymes improve the processing of bread dough in automated environments. They reduce the stickiness of the dough and ensure that it has the properties of dry and process-ready dough that afford excellent fermentation stability. The enzymes produce this effect during the initial stage of the baking process and are deactivated by the heat of the oven during baking. The industrial production of baked goods requires a strong, stable dough during mixing and fermentation for optimal performance – not only to keep production running but also to reduce food loss. Enzymes can even improve sustainability performance. They are much more effective than traditional dough strengtheners and so allow bakers to reduce costs through optimised logistics (e.g. storage and transportation) which can significantly reduce their carbon footprint.
Better crumb structure
Enzymes improve crumb structure in all kinds of baked goods and enable manufacturers to create finer, more consistent baked products. They ensure a fluffy dough and loaves of bread that have risen well and have a soft and elastic crumb. Thanks to baking enzymes, soft baked goods such as muffins, donuts and sponge cakes are more fresh and have a consistent high-quality.
Appealing appearance
Consumers look for bread and biscuits with a rich golden-colour and good structural integrity. With baking enzymes, manufacturers and bakers can ensure that crispy crackers, cookies and snacks are consistently golden. It is this better dough structure that also produces the more visible cuts along the top of baguettes.
Acrylamide reduction
Acrylamide is an unwanted substance that can be formed in many starch based foods when heated due to the natural presence of certain sugars and amino acids. Both the EU and the US FDA warn of acrylamide’s possible carcinogenic effects. Various studies have demonstrated that most traditional bread types do not lead to concerning levels of acrylamide and stay well below the recommended thresholds as defined by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). However, these studies found that low moisture bakery products in particular - such as biscuits, crackers, crisp bread, wafers and similar - can form levels of acrylamide above the recommended threshold levels. Enzymes can enable reduced acrylamide formation in those affected baked goods and other foods by up to 95 percent without compromising on taste, texture, flavour or smell. Enzymes offer a natural solution to healthier baking and also an answer to acrylamide challenges in specific baked goods.
More efficient & sustainable production process
Baking enzymes can considerably increase both the efficiency and sustainability of the baking production process. They guarantee the same baking result at lower temperatures so reducing energy costs. They also enable producers to reduce ingredient costs by rendering redundant ingredients such as emulsifiers and gluten. In addition, enzymes reduce logistics costs by improving freshness so that transportation is needed less often. Moreover, the use of enzymes can result in less food waste as bakery products remain edible for longer. In sum, the use of enzymes in baking offers a host of advantages that benefit the industry, society and the environment.
Sources
https://www.basf.com/global/en/products/segments/nutrition_and_care/nutrition_and_health/enzymes/basf-enzyme-solutions/baked-goods.html
https://www.novozymes.com/en/advance-your-business/food-and-beverage/baking
https://www.abenzymes.com/en/your-industry/baking-flour-milling-and-pasta/baking-improvers/
https://www.dupontnutritionandbiosciences.com/product-range/food-enzymes/bakery-enzymes.html
https://www.dsm.com/food-specialties/en_US/markets/baking.html
https://www.puratos.com/product-categories/bakery-ingredients
