Baking & Snack - April 2004 - 65

INGREDIENT TECHNOLOGY

Oil & Water
... and More

In importance to baking, the protein and starch
complexing functions of emulsifiers eclipse their surfactant activities.
BY LAURIE GORTON
ho said oil and water don't mix? In the company of emulsifiers, such immiscible materials
become very compatible indeed. The functions of emulsifiers in bakery formulations,
however, involve more than stabilizing solutions. This
class of ingredients gets intimately involved with a
formula's starch and protein components as well as its
fat and water.
Somewhat overlooked in today's push to lengthen
shelf life and shorten ingredient statements through enzymes, emulsifiers continue to yield benefits in bakery
formulations. Their use enhances dough stability during machining and contributes to softness in finished
products. In fact, these materials can claim bragging
rights as the original shelf life extenders, and many enzyme-based improvers contain emulsifiers as essential
functional components.
Emulsifiers can be added separately to formulations,
but in most commercial applications, they are likely to be
applied in the form of compounded dough conditioners/
strengtheners and crumb softeners or through use of
high-ratio shortenings. Dairy ingredients, egg yolks and
lecithin contribute their naturally occurring emulsifier
components to baked foods as well.
In yeast-raised products, addition of emulsifiers at
appropriate levels results in an increase in product volume, a more tender crust and crumb, a finer and more
uniform cell structure with thin cell walls resulting in a
brighter crumb color and a slowing in the rate of crumb
firming. In cake baking, the primary effects of emulsifiers are an increase in volume and an improvement in
the product's texture, eating quality and shelf life. While
stabilizing icings and creme fillings, they also contribute more desirable grain and texture.
Changes continue to be made in this class of bakery ingredient. For example, a new generation of strengtheners
is now available to bakers, more tolerant of variations in
processing and ingredients. With advanced enzymes as
part of the mix, these strengtheners improve consistency in
processing when producing multiple types of baked foods.

IMPROVEMENT PRIMARY. Emulsifiers provide a wide
range of functions in baked foods, intended to improve
both in-process and finished products. At their most basic,
emulsifiers reduce surface tension between two immiscible
phases, usually water and oil in bakery products, but also
air and water in protein-based foams. More complicated
functions involve protein and starch modification;
hence bakery emulsifiers are more accurately termed
dough conditioners and crumb softeners.
By reducing surface tension, emulsifiers
enable mixing and prevent separation
before stabilization. This valuable
function not only improves crumb
tenderness in cakes and breads but
also controls sugar and fat crystallization in chocolate, reducing the risk that
sugar or fat will bloom on the surface of finished items.
By interacting with droplets of fat, emulsifiers allow
shortenings and oils to disperse more evenly into
water-based doughs and batters. Better
distribution of these fats promotes
more tender, better textured crumb
in the finished product. Similarly,
emulsifiers stabilize water-in-oil
emulsions such as butter, margarine and icings, keeping moisture
beadlets and the water-soluble
flavorants they carry suspended
throughout the fat phase of
the product.
THE BIGGER PICTURE.
By complexing
with protein,
emulsifiers
add flexibility and
strength,
enable
gluten to

April 2004 / BAKING & SNACK / 65

Baking & Snack - April 2004

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