Baking & Snack - March 2019 - 42

EMULSIFIERS

Batter-based products are by
nature emulsifications. Batters
contain a lot of water and
fat that need to be brought
together to create a homogenous finished product.
Cargill

Cake batters, however, are at the other end of that
spectrum because they contain a lot of water and fat that
must be blended into a batter. This makes emulsifiers a
necessity. "Cake emulsifiers are crucial ingredients due
to the complicated interaction between ingredients such
as eggs, oil, cocoa, sugar, flour, etc.," said Carlos Fajardo,
PhD, technical sales manager, Palsgaard.
These ingredients bring stability and uniformity to
batter, assisting with uniform aeration and water retention. "Cake emulsifiers are formulated so that a batter
has sufficient stability through the mixing and baking
steps to ensure the batter emulsion ends up producing a
uniform stable foam celled structure - a cake," said Tim
Cottrell, director of business development, emulsifiers
and texturants, Kerry.

There's an emulsifier for that
The functionality that emulsifiers bring to any baked
good helps those formulations overcome challenges of
automated processing. They aid in a wide range of issues
by enhancing product consistency, texture, processing
stability and shelf life. "Customer satisfaction is vital for
bakers and different challenges such as inherent inconsistency due to ingredients, variability in mixing times
and steps, different elevation and pressure of bakery locations - just to mention a few - arise when making
them," Dr. Fajardo said. "Bakers need cake emulsifiers to
reduce these challenges and increase product quality to
satisfy customer demands."
Which emulsifier bakers choose - and its usage rate
- will depend on the goals they are trying to attain.
"Is the baker looking for process tolerance or quality
improvement of the finished product, such as initial

42 Baking & Snack March 2019 / www.bakingandsnack.com

crumb softening of the bread post-bake?" Mr. Bright
asked. "Or in the case of tortilla production, a solution
for anti-sticking during shelf life? The answer to these
types of questions will guide the formulator as to the
appropriate solution."
Because bread doesn't contain much fat, the benefits
of emulsifiers can assist more with process tolerance for
commercially produced bread as well as improved final
product characteristics. "Tried and trusted emulsifiers
such as DATEM, sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate (SSL) and
mono- and diglycerides can be used by bread bakers to
improve the process tolerance of a dough system, external and internal characteristics of baked bread, and
in the case of mono- and diglycerides and SSL, contribute to the initial softness of bread during shelf life,"
Mr. Bright explained.
Emulsifiers improve tolerances because they interact
with the gluten to strengthen the dough. This helps the
dough maintain its quality through dividing, forming,
proofing and even slicing. "The improvements in tolerance and consistency ultimately lead to less yield loss
and lower manufacturing costs," Mr. Robertson said.
"Put simply, emulsifiers make it easier for bakers to deliver the quality and consistency consumers expect from
bakery products with less hassle and waste."
For cakes, sweet goods and muffins, emulsifiers help
not only with processing but also with reducing product
variability. Emulsifiers increase batter stability to minimize the impact of ingredient and process variance for
sweet goods, Mr. Robertson said, as well as improve the
texture of cakes and muffins.
According to Rosa Regalado, general manager,
Palsgaard, the company's powder-activated cake emulsifiers can reduce variability in the ingredients and process, increase shelf life by maintaining a soft and moist
cake, shorten ingredient list, and improve the cake's
crumb structure and eating quality.

Clean label alternatives
While chemical emulsifiers are effective, they have recently attracted negative attention from consumers. This
has some bakers wanting to remove them from formulations without losing the benefits they bring. "Product
developers are tasked with finding not only functional
ingredient solutions for their formulations but also ones
that abide by the label requirements of consumers,"
said Chloe McDaniel, marketing specialist, TIC Gums.
"When developers are looking to clean up their label, it
is often contingent on GMO status, organic status, retailer approval and other variables."
Probably the most important criteria when a baker is cleaning up the ingredient list, however, is final
product quality. Regardless of what consumers say

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Baking & Snack - March 2019

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