Baking & Snack - May 2024 - 62

SUGAR REDUCTION
ment for sugar and has good digestive tolerance, " he added.
" Erythritol, which is present in nature in fruits such
as pears, melons and grapes, as well as mushrooms and
fermentation-derived foods, is another bulk sugar replacer.
Erythritol provides functional bulking and is 70% as
sweet as sugar with only 0.2 calories per gram. "
King identified volume as the top challenge for reducing
sugar in sweet baked goods as it can make up 13% to
14% of the total product weight or more.
" You could replace sugar one-to-one with an allulose
Fruit inclusions
and purees can
provide sweetness
without increasing
added sugar.
Leigh Beisch/Sunsweet Growers
blend, meaning an allulose-stevia-monk fruit blend,
which would be on parity with sugar, " he said. " Your
limitation in sweet baked goods is allulose, which has a
tendency to burn faster than sucrose, so you may have to
increase your bake time and decrease your temperature
slightly. I would say decrease your temperature by 25%,
and increase your bake time by about 20%. "
He cautioned that allulose is not well-metabolized by
yeast, so formulators must work around that. Also, while
allulose, which is about 70% as sweet as sugar, has been
approved by the FDA, it has not been approved for use in
Canada and the European Union.
Sugar, or sucrose, acts as a tenderizer in sweet baked
goods, imparting a tender crumb, said Julia DesRochers,
senior principal scientist, Tate & Lyle.
" The solubility of sucrose in the aqueous phase changes
the 'bulkiness' of the formula water which in turn affects
many aspects ranging from starch gelatinization temperature,
cookie spread, moisture retention and water activity,
just to name a few, " she said.
Sugar also helps with the Maillard reaction, or the
browning that contributes to their flavor and appearance.
" Sugar contributes to the beautiful golden brown color
and rich flavor we associate with baked goods, " said
Casey McCormick, vice president of global innovation at
Sweegen. " Finding alternative ways to achieve desirable
browning and flavor without relying on sugar can be a
complex task requiring adjustments to baking techniques
and ingredient combinations. "
He also mentioned the importance sugar plays in the
shelf life and stability of sweet baked foods.
" Sugar helps preserve the freshness and extend the
shelf life of baked goods by reducing water activity and
inhibiting microbial growth, " McCormick said. " When
reducing sugar, bakers must explore alternative preservation
methods or packaging solutions to maintain product
quality over time. "
Balancing the taste
Because taste is king, it's so important to find the right
combination of sweeteners to create a product that best
replicates the flavor of the full-sugar versions.
" Sugar plays a crucial role in achieving the perfect level
of sweetness in baked goods, " McCormick said. " When
reducing sugar, bakers need to experiment with different
sweeteners and flavor modifiers to ensure the final product
remains satisfying to the palate without compromising
on taste. "
Higher sugar reductions require more bulking agents,
taste perception. Newer technologies
which will affect
include sweetness enhancers and flavor maskers that can
overcome off notes, Ferraro pointed out.
" When you go as high as 50%, you will be changing the
mouthfeel and, in some cases, the flavor perception of the
baked good, " he said.
King did caution that flavor maskers can also cover
up flavors that bakers want to come through, which can
mean more ingredients must be used to get the same
taste perception.
" If you blend steviol glycosides that are from stevia
with mogroside V, which is the sweet constituent in monk
fruit, those two glycosides actually mask each other's off
notes, " he explained. " Together they work as a masker, but
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