Naturally present in baking ingredients, enzymes play an important role in food processing.
Inspired by nature, modern solutions developed with enzymes mark the silver lining between goals coming from the R&D laboratory, restraints coming from the bakery facility and the tastes and experiences consumer prefers.
The demand for softer breads that stay fresh longer is not new. Egyptians added oil and honey to their breads to achieve this. Later, ingredients like fat, eggs and sugar were used to create a softer crumb that would stay fresh longer. Until the beginning of the previous century, the most common ingredient that was added to breads was barley flour, resulting in a softer bread with a longer shelf life. French chemist Anselme Payen discovered in 1833 that there were enzymes present in barley, which broke down starches in the flour into sugars for the yeast to consume. This inspired bakers and biotechnologists to get a better understanding of the use of enzymes in bread.
Enzymes deliver a range of functional benefits in baked goods, such as wholegrain bakery products, which are fast gaining traction among health-conscious consumers. Enzymes that help delay staling and produce baked products that stay fresh for longer, with lower levels of emulsifiers, are particularly in demand as sustainability rises to the top of the consumer agenda, observes Judith van Peij, Innovation Manager Baking, DSM Food Specialties. At the same time, there is a growing trend, driven by today’s health-conscious consumers, for fortifying baked goods with vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. DSM, for example, can provide solutions for fortification with nutrients like vitamin D or omega-3s.
When it comes to better-for-you claims, bakery manufacturers are increasingly searching for enzymes to reduce levels of sugar, fat, salt and acrylamide, as well as options to replace ascorbic acid. Additionally, they are now also seeking out enzymes that help lower levels of FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) to promote good digestive health.
Putting enzymes to good work
Each enzyme has a specific functionality and finding the right blend is a delicate procedure. Enzyme reactions can be affected by changes in temperature and pH that may take place during food processing. Although the functionality of an enzyme is relatively well known, the optimal dosage can vary, especially when combined with other enzymes. “Factors such as the recipe, type of flour, process used and required shelf life of the product can affect the recommended dosage and combination,” van Peij explains. Other considerations, such as customer needs and preferences, also vary and should be considered at the very start of the product development. “For instance, a soft, high volume, moist white flour-based bread with at least three months’ shelf life is popular in certain regions and will require a different set of enzymes when compared to wholewheat, high fiber, organic bread with a shelf life of seven days, which is preferred in other parts of the world, DSM’s specialist details.
Salt is often used to extend the dough development time and increase the dough resistance,
elasticity and extensibility. The dough is strengthened due to the decrease in water absorption of
the flour when salt is present. So, it can be challenging for bakery manufacturers to formulate
products with reduced sodium levels in the creation of better-for-you products, as it will negatively
affect dough behavior during processing, and will influence the shape and volume of baked bread.
DSM recommends: “To better control texture and volume without adding salt, gluten hydration
needs to be addressed. Here, a hemicellulase enzyme hydrolyzes both water-unextractable and
water-extractable arabinoxylans. Arabinoxylans make up 75% of the wheat endosperm non-starch
polysaccharides and have a major effect on the water absorption of flour in a dough.
Arabinoxylan disturbs both the gas retaining properties of dough and the visco-elastic properties of
the gluten network. A hemicellulase enzyme, such as present in the DSM’s BakeZyme® enzyme
portfolio, is able to partially break down arabinoxylan, resulting in proper water management,
improved dough handling, improved tolerance and stability and improved dough volume.”
Moreover, a lipase enzyme can further help improve dough tolerance and baking performance in baked goods. DSM’s Panamore® Spring lipase has been developed to imitate the functionality of synthetic emulsifiers like SSL and CSL to help create products with an appealing crumb structure and softness. Meanwhile, the Panamore® Golden enzyme can be used as an alternative to DATEM to help improve volume, stability, crust opening and overall appearance.
Enzymes also provide manufacturers with the means to reformulate bakery products to have lower fat or sugar contents. For example, Puratos Puraslim contains a patented enzyme found in Yellowstone National Park that can provide a more pleasant short bite by being active during the baking process of the breads. Puratos researchers discovered this enzyme and its ability to improve the texture of bread through its Innovation Inspired by Nature approach, which focuses on enzymes as a natural resource in developing better-for-you bakery solutions. This technology helps to reduce up to 50% of in-dough solid fat in sweet breads and pastries without compromising on texture or taste. This latest innovation can be applied to rich applications, such as brioches and other kinds of sweet buns, Agache (Puratos) notes.
New developments
DSM’s established products include its Panamore® Golden and Panamore® Spring lipase ranges, which can be used to improve baking processes for a variety of bread and cake applications. “Panamore® Spring is an enzyme preparation developed for a wide variety of crumb-rich soft bread applications and morning goods, offering a cost-effective alternative of SSL and CSL for more consumer-friendly labeling,” van Peij says. During mechanical processing, it can improve dough tolerance and enhance dough handling properties and machinability, in a similar way to the use of traditional dough conditioners. It can also improve crumb softness, while adding a low amount of fat further improves baking performance to result in enhanced softness.
In its own collaborative work, DSM carries out extensive market research and baking trials, including sensory panels, to evaluate mouthfeel, shape, volume and softness. The findings are shared to help manufacturers create high-quality, great-tasting and consumer-inspired baked goods efficiently, with the use of enzymes.
Enzymes support sustainability
Enzymes enable manufacturers to produce baked goods more sustainably, by using less energy than alternative ingredients. These solutions can also help to make locally-sourced raw materials suitable for final applications, DSM emphasizes. At the same time, enzymes enable bakery producers to reduce food waste by maintaining the freshness of baked goods once they reach the consumers’ cupboards without compromising on their preferences for shorter, more recognizable ingredient lists. With roughly one-third of the food produced globally for human consumption (approximately 1.3 billion tons) lost or wasted every year, tackling food waste remains a key sustainability challenge 1.
For bakery producers looking to further elevate their sustainability credentials, replacing or reducing an emulsifier like DATEM with an enzyme, such as DSM’s BakeZyme® PH 800 BG and the Panamore® range of enzymes, can help reduce a company’s local carbon footprint. “This is because enzymes, which are added in very low amounts, require much less energy than emulsifiers to achieve a similar effect,” van Peij explains. Plus, adding specific combinations of xylanases can reduce the baking time of biscuit or wafer production, by decreasing the volume of water needed. With less water, these types of products require shorter baking times, which reduces energy usage.
