Control Baking Results by Adding Enzymes
Enzymes are an important help in bakers’ activity. Dr. Lutz Popper, scientific director at DeutscheBack GmbH & Co KG, shared with us how these catalysts help make healthier bakery goods, and how to select the right enzyme for the job.
Enzymes have unique roles during baking. Dr. Popper explains the difference between how enzymes are used in artisanal and in industrial bakeries.
In an artisanal bakery, the only way to control the results is by evaluating the dough properties and the baking results. If the desired processing and final goods properties are not obtained when running tests, the enzyme application has to be adjusted. “For a small bakery, this is hardly possible because of the small dosages of enzymes. Therefore, bread improvers are commonly used instead of pure enzymes. In bread improvers, the concentrations of the enzymes are adjusted to the targeted application, and they may be combined with components supporting their action such as ascorbic acid, vital wheat gluten, hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, etc.,” the scientist from DeutscheBack explains.
On the other hand, industrial bakeries may have the advantage of being able to test the functionality of the enzymes in a laboratory, for instance with rheological instruments. “By this, they can check the quality of the enzymes as well as the response of a flour to enzymatic treatment. A new batch of flour may react in a different manor; therefore, it is helpful to be able to make predictions on how to adjust the addition of enzymes or other improvers,” Dr. Popper says.
Enzymes affect the appearance of baked goods, i.e. the shape, the volume, the crust color, the shred etc. They may also have an effect on the crumb structure (either finer or coarser), on the crumb color (brighter), the crumb softness and the shelf life of the crumb softness. However, asparaginase is a special case: this enzyme affects neither the processing properties nor the appearance of the final good. It only reduces the amount of acrylamide in the final baked good, as Dr. Popper explains.
Moreover, the enzyme has to be suitable for the chosen baking application. For instance, a xylanase that creates a soft and extensible dough and open crumb structure may be suitable for ciabatta but would probably disturb the production of toast loafs. Another example: alpha-amylases are necessary for bread baking and have to be added if a flour does not contain sufficient intrinsic amylase. For wafer application, amylases are not desirable because they produce dextrin that may lead to sticking of the wafer sheets to the irons, according to the scientist.
Enzyme development is set to perfect existing roles, and will is not likely to produce completely new types of enzymes. “Since the components of wheat flour and dough are already well known it is not very likely that “revolutions” will occur in the future. More like is evolution of existing enzymes, i.e. improvement of the current function and economy,” he says.
On the other hand, lipids modifying enzymes have been in the focus already for a while, and only recently it turned out that a very small fraction of lipids present in flour, the galactolipids, have an enormous potential for bread improvement when partially hydrolyzed by certain lipases. “Hence, flour and enzymes may still be good for some surprises,” Dr. Popper adds.
Another area where the scientists might look into the future is cross-linking enzymes which may draw more attention. They have the potential to stabilize the dough system or to create new structures with distinct properties, e.g. water absorption. “In many cases, enzyme cascades are required to build up new molecules; therefore, it is not an easy task, although it is certainly possible,” Dr. Popper remarks.
On June 14, DeutscheBack has announced a new enzyme system, Innovase ASP DP, which also inhibits acrylamide formation in the baking process. It is recommended for baked goods such as biscuits, wafers, bread, and rolls. “A simple dosing makes the new solution easier for bakers to use than enzyme concentrates and enables adherence to the statutory tolerances for acrylamide without extra work,” the company says. It has a dosage ratio of 0.2 – 2%.