Baking & Snack - February 2024 - 64

FIBER
She suggested making sure to select the appropriate
source of fiber and optimizing fiber blends by using a mix
of ingredients to mitigate the dense texture. In addition,
altering the order of when ingredients are mixed together
can help improve the final product.
Ms. Jeradechachai mentioned angel food cake as the
toughest to formulate with fiber because of its sensitivity
to added ingredients.
" Angel food cakes are baked from a mixture of egg
whites, flour and sugar plus other minor ingredients, " she
said. " A dietary fiber ingredient added to an angel food
cake formula may have a destabilizing effect on the aerated
texture from whipped egg whites before baking and on the
light and fluffy texture of the finished baked cake. "
Light, puffy and flaky items such as croissants, popovers
and other layered doughs can be negatively impacted by
the addition of fiber, Ms. Browder noted.
SENSORY EXPECTATIONS ARE
IMPORTANT TO CONSUMERS
WHO ARE NOT WILLING TO
COMPROMISE ON THEIR
HEALTHY INDULGENCES.
" Due to the weight of the fiber - since it soaks up water
- flaky items are weighed down and can't puff or propSoluble
fiber ingredients like inulin and oligofructose provide
sweetness and moisture retention, which allows bakers
to reduce added sugars in products.
©Mara Zemgaliete-stock.adobe.com
dition to ensure proper hydration and/or avoid hydration
of ingredients and baking process can further help optimize
texture and mouthfeel. "
Maintaining a balance
Cakes and other baked foods with lighter textures can be
especially challenging to formulate with added fiber.
" Soft, moist, tender low-density applications with light
textures such as cakes and muffins and traditional sugar and
chocolate chip cookies are a few examples, " said Cynthia
Machado, PhD, senior technical and business development
manager, global ingredients, Blue Diamond Growers. " A
fiber that is not the most ideal for the application can negatively
impact the texture that consumers expect from these
soft, moist, tender and low density baked goods. "
64 Baking & Snack February 2024 / www.bakingbusiness.com
erly leaven, which makes the baked item denser, " she said.
" Adding other ingredients to counteract that density, like
supplementing the formula with a wheat gluten to create
more structure, can help, but a baker will also need to remove
the weight of those dry ingredients from another dry
source in the formula. Alternatively, bakers can add more
moisture to counter the addition of the dry ingredients. It's
a delicate balance that requires testing and often multiple
iterations to get it right. "
Applications that rely on gluten for structure and support
can also be challenging when adding fiber, Mr.
Reid said.
" Insoluble fiber will hold water, reducing the amount
available for gluten formation, " he said. " However, soluble
fiber can help lightly bond the gluten proteins, assisting
in keeping the strength. Additionally, the swelling of the
fiber can physically separate the two protein components
of gluten and prevent them from combining to form
gluten. Increased water content, increased mixing time
and speeds, additional gluten fortification, and including
soluble fiber can help make up for the reduced gluten
formation. "
High-fiber formulations can also lead to weak
doughs that are hard to process, said Ms. Jeradechachai.
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