GoodMills Innovation launched GOOD NatureRelax, a clean-label baking ingredient based on wheat germ that counteracts excessive dough elasticity naturally and without additives. Excessively elastic wheat doughs are a key disruptor in bakery production, as they make shaping difficult, impair process stability and increase waste.

With GOOD NatureRelax, GoodMills Innovation introduces a baking ingredient that addresses this issue. It is derived from 100% stabilized, finely ground wheat germ, the company explains, as it has been specially developed to ensure relaxed dough handling and process stabilization on mechanical and industrial equipment.

Excessive dough elasticity can be exacerbated by a number of factors, such as flour quality, the addition of gluten, oxidizing agents or oxidative enzymes, intensive kneading, as well as firm or cold doughs with short resting times. When it occurs, the dough becomes harder to shape, sticks and needs to be reworked. As a result, piece weights vary, process disruptions can occur more frequently and there is excess waste.

GOOD NatureRelax utilizes two components that occur naturally in wheat germ:

• Glutathione, a tripeptide with antioxidant properties, breaks down disulphide bonds in the gluten network and is consumed in the process.
• Meanwhile, the enzyme protease breaks down the protein chains of the gluten, thereby softening the dough, but is not consumed.

Both active ingredients complement each other in their mode of action and, together, support gentle dough softening, Good Mills Innovation explains.

GOOD NatureRelax is designed for wheat doughs and is dosed at 0.1 to 1% on top of milled grain products, depending on the specific application. In practice, dosages of 0.3% for pretzels, 0.4% for layered or laminated doughs such as croissants, and 0.5% for rolled wheat pastries have proven effective. Other areas of application include baguettes, pizzas and tray bakes. The optimum dosage may vary depending on the recipe and process parameters, and should therefore be adjusted on a case-by-case basis, the company recommends.

GoodMills Innovation also notes that kneading time should be reduced by up to 15% when using the new solution, to optimize the full potential of the ingredient. In addition, since it is a natural alternative to inactive yeast and cysteine, GOOD NatureRelax should not be combined with these ingredients – to avoid excessive dough softening.

Photos: GoodMills Innovation