Baking&Snack - June 2013 - 75

FORMULATION
Ingredient App

Texture? Taste?
Consumer research cues enzyme systems
that build bread’s texture to support its taste.

Puratos

by Laurie Gorton

Two-thirds of Americans eat sliced
bread on a daily basis or at least
several times a week. But what draws
them to one style vs. another? Is it
taste? Is it texture? Actually, one is
as important as the other, according
to new consumer research that supports using enzyme-based ingredient
systems to improve bread texture.
The relationship between bread
taste and texture has long fascinated
scientists and bakers alike. Bread’s
texture changes on the shelf and in
the home as it ages. What starts out
soft and appealing eventually succumbs to staling and turns dry and
crumbly. How long should packaged
bread stay fresh? Americans hold
differing expectations. Notably, 50%
want it to taste fresh for a week, and
another 25% for two weeks.
In recent years, bakers learned
how enzymes enhance the staying
power of bread, and they have
many such enzyme systems at hand.
However, what the formulator
chooses must also fit shoppers’
expectations. Seeking better insight
into just what people want from
their bread in terms of taste and
texture, Puratos Corp., Cherry Hill,
NJ, sent out its Sensobus mobile
sensory lab to seek answers directly
from consumers.
In more than 1,000 consumer
interviews in three states on the

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East and West Coasts, Sensobus
staff offered different sliced breads
to their subjects. “Consumers were
asked to rate and rank multiple
attributes of the product samples,”
explained Liesbet Vandepoel,
product manager, bakery mixes
and improvers, Puratos.
The company’s researchers learned
texture is as important to bread
purchasing decisions as taste. These
results confirm that texture plays a
key role in the eating quality — and
consumer enjoyment — of bread.
Specific texture likes and dislikes varied by region. Also, consumers evaluated texture differently depending on
whether it was white or wheat bread.
“Overall, we did notice a common
group of texture features that were
preferred by the majority of US
consumers,” Ms. Vandepoel said.
“Depending on which side of the
country, however, we could see
different preferences in terms of
how soft the bread had to be.”
The company engaged its own
trained sensory expert panel to
translate bread texture aspects into
measurable data and cast research
results into actionable advice for
Puratos’ customers. The consumer
results and the panel’s analysis, combined with penetrometer readings,
enabled the company to map texture
features according to specific regions.

This project helped Puratos
develop its Intens line of enzymebased ingredients for bread and
buns. “The Intens products are
enzyme-based solutions that optimize individual characteristics of
the dough or the final bread,” Ms.
Vandepoel said. “This enables the
baker to tailor-make the texture
in terms of resiliency, short bite,
softness and moistness of the
bread item.”
When added to existing formulations, these ingredients intensify
a specific functionality without reformulating the entire product.
“For example, our Intens Moist improves the freshness of a product
by increasing the softness and the
moistness of the bread item,” Ms.
Vandepoel explained. “Or our
Intens Microwave is designed to
improve texture and the ease of
eating after reheating or defrosting
in the microwave.”
Another Intens system plays up
melting characteristics that make
the bread or buns easier to swallow.
Because the line was created to be
modular, combinations of different Intens systems can be used to
customize baked foods.
For more information about
texture solutions, including a video,
go to www.puratos.us/en/innovation/
technologies/bread-texture-solutions.

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June 2013 / Baking & Snack / 75

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