Baking&Snack - August 2013 - 63

PROCESS
Most likely, honey was the baker’s first sweetener, and it
remains a mainstay of their ingredients.
Honey is classified by form (liquid and dry being most
often used in commercial formulations), color and flavor,
with the latter two resulting primarily from their mineral
content and the floral source frequented by the bees.
This natural sweetener is mildly treated before it gets
to the baker. Honey processors commonly use separation
systems to remove particulate matter at the nanoparticle
level. It is heated to 140 to 160°F before storage to prevent
granulation known as “sugared honey. Such heating also
”
destroys wild yeast cells, dissolves any glucose crystals
that may have formed and redistributes moisture throughout the honey mass. When glucose crystallizes, the reaction liberates water. Honey will ferment when improperly
stored, and the potential to do so increases when moisture content exceeds 20%.
“Primarily composed of fructose and glucose, honey
provides more sweetness than sugar and has a natural
appeal, observed Catherine Barry, director of marketing,
”
National Honey Board, Firestone, CO. “Honey’s sugar profile does change slightly between floral sources. Fructose
can range from 30.91 to 44.26%, and glucose can range
from 22.89 to 40.75%.
”
Some honey varieties are higher in one or the other. The
greater the fructose-to-glucose ratio, the less likely the
honey is to crystallize. One that doesn’t is tupelo honey
from the Southeastern US. Its fructose and glucose contents may, on occasion, reach a ratio of 2:1.

than any other type of cereal grain.
“It is a tremendous enzyme source,”
he added.
When 100% malted barley is
dried, milled and steeped in water,
its enzymes convert the starches
present in barley into sugar. This is
a natural process much the same as
for the preparation of corn syrup,
except the enzymes used are native
to barley, not added. Also, the whole
malted barley grain is used instead
of just the starch as is the case with
corn syrup.
Malt extract is the functional
equivalent of a high-maltose, 52 DE
corn syrup, Dr. Morano explained,
and it readily replaces 42 DE and
62 DE corn syrups. It also contains
about 5% soluble malt protein,

which is capable of developing flavor and color through the Maillard
browning reaction.
The issue of color requires careful thought. “Both honey and malt
are darker materials than either
granulated sugar or corn syrup, and
their inclusion can result in a darker
finished product,” Mr. Bodner cautioned. Considerable variation exists
in color and flavor, depending on
type, source and process. “Lighter
colors typically have a milder flavor,
and darker colors tend to be stronger
flavored,” he explained.
And there can be a difference in
color effects according to the leavening used. In yeast-raised products,
for example, the reducing sugars
remaining after fermentation will

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2013
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August 2013 / Baking & Snack /©2013 FPSA
63

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Baking&Snack - August 2013

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