Baking & Snack - April 2005 - 76

ᮡ Without the proper surfactant, cakes
won't achieve their soft crumb structure,
characterized by uniform small cells.

dispersion and hydration, because prehydrated monoglycerides are 100% fully
functional at the point of addition."
Having the consistency of shortening,
pre-hydrated monogycerides must be
hand scaled. "For large, automated bakeries, we also have a liquid version that can
be metered," he added. "Both are very effective crumb softeners for breads, buns,
yeast-leavened sweet goods, tortillas and
pizza crust dough. They also are trans-fat
free, an attribute today's baker values."
Dispersible monoglycerides are typically microencapsulated powders, with many
suppliers offering signature products that
possess unique functional properties.
"Our
patented,
microencapsulated
monoglyceride-based powder systems are
processed in such a way that the highly
functional alpha-crystalline molecular
phase is stabilized and kept from converting to the less functional beta-crystalline
phase," said Dennis Reid, director, sales
and marketing, Emulsion Technology, Inc.,
Chesterfield, MO. "Not only is the alphacrystalline form more functional, it also
disperses more effectively in the aqueous
phase of a dough or batter, even though the
ingredients are lipophilic and high melting.
This is due to special co-processing and the

78 / BAKING & SNACK / April 2005

resulting crystalline structure.
"Because monoglycerides are fully
saturated and dispersible, they are 100%
functional without having to be in a hydrated form," he added. "They also help
replace the structure, texture and stability
lost when partially hydrogenated fats or
shortenings are removed from baked foods
to achieve trans-fat-free formulations."
Chemically leavened tortillas and flatbreads have unique textural requirements
that certain emulsifiers can assist with.
"A DATEM (diacetyl tartaric acid ester of
monoglycerides) emulsifier system can reduce dough stickiness and improve dough
extensibility during tortilla manufacturing,"
said Mr. Kappelman. "It also gives baked
tortillas a consistently uniform shape."
Indeed, consumers expect tortillas and
flatbreads to be soft and flexible over the
shelf life of the product. They should also not
stick together in the package during storage.
"Certain hydrocolloids such as alginate
and guar gum can be functional in tortillas,
because they increase water retention and
prevent packed product from sticking together," stated Mr. Kappelman.
Select dairy ingredients are also recognized for reducing staling and improving the
texture of baked foods. For example, nonfat
dry milk, specifically the high-heat variety,
provides structure to baked foods. "Structure development is inversely correlated
to the nitrogen value of the undenatured
whey protein. In other words, the lower the

whey protein nitrogen value, the greater the
volume," said Sharon Gerdes, technical support consultant for Dairy Management Inc.,
Rosemont, IL. "The heat treatment of nonfat
dry milk is more important in yeast-raised
products than in many other bakery items
because of the interactions between the dairy
proteins and the gluten proteins of wheat
flour. In fact, high-heat nonfat dry milk will
prevent loaf volume depression in bread.
"Heat-treated whey protein concentrates
are also effective texturizers in baked foods
because of the protein-protein interactions
and free sulfhydrl groups that result from
heat denaturation," explained Ms. Gerdes.
"In order to optimize bread loaf volume,
whey-based ingredients should be low in
lactose and high in protein, specifically
denatured protein.
"In cakes, whey protein concentrates can
improve crumb strength," she continued.
"This is because the denatured proteins
help entrap air and retain carbon dioxide
produced by the leavening system."
Studies show that calcium levels play
a role in the rate of firming of bread,
with the softest bread produced using
whey protein concentrates with the least
amount of calcium. "Lower-calcium whey
protein concentrates aggregate at higher
temperatures in the baking process, when
there is more gelatinized starch, allowing the whey protein chains to extend
between the starch chains and decrease
retrogradation," Ms. Gerdes stated.
Increasing the lactose (milk sugar) content
in dough can also produce bread that retains
its softness for a longer period of time. This
softness has been attributed to better emulsification of the fat in the formula.
Whey phospholipids are a relatively new
dairy ingredient being explored as an emulsifier in bakery products. Basically, this new
ingredient is a byproduct of whey protein
isolate, one we are discovering to be very
functional and valuable," said Ms. Gerdes.
Optimum usage levels of dairy ingredients in baked food formulations vary, but
2 to 3% is a good starting point to obtain
maximum texturizing benefits, according to
Ms. Gerdes. "Many all-natural bakeries find
the healthful halo associated with dairy ingredients appealing, because ingredients labeled as nonfat dry milk and whey protein
concentrate are very consumer friendly." Ⅲ

Baking & Snack - April 2005

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