Baking & Snack - April 2005 - 79

April 2005

Enzyme Answers
BY LAURIE GORTON
onger mixing times and lower
throughputs are common production
problems when making whole-grain
baked foods. Can bakers turn to enzymes to
address these concerns? What other aspects
of whole-grain formulation might be improved by the right choice of enzymes?
"High speed production of whole-grain
bakery products challenge the dough
strength, specifically the gluten structure,
of these foods," said Dana Boll, product
manager specialties, bakery, Danisco,
New Century, KS. She explained that the
added whole grains, nuts and fiber or
the absence of white flour results
in more insoluble material that
the gluten normally supports
during processing, proofing
and baking. "They make
great demands on the gluten
network resulting in processing difficulties, poor or
low volume and unacceptable
quality."
A fully developed gluten
matrix is essential for wholegrain baked foods; however, in these
doughs, the gluten network is already
weakened and diluted because it must carry more fibrous material, noted Ms. Boll.
"Because of the large amounts of insoluble,
fibrous material in whole-wheat doughs, it
is more difficult to fully develop the dough
during mixing," she observed.
Although whole grains provide significant health benefits to consumers, they
bring a lot of "dead weight" to the formulation, according to Todd Forman, staff
scientist, Novozymes, Franklinton, NC.
"The available gluten-forming proteins
are diluted by the additional bran and
nonwheat flours," he said.

Such interesting problems yield equally
interesting answers, according to ingredient technology specialists.

ENZYME SOLUTION
Because whole-grain formulations can put
the gluten structure at risk, gluten supplementation is often an answer. Yet because
of the 51% whole-grain content rule for
making health claims, some formulas may
not be able to take the additional gluten
without diluting the claim basis.
Enzymes involve far lower levels of
inclusion, typically only a
gram or two per cwt
of flour. "Enzymes
that improve gluten functionality
and
strength
should be logical choices for

How will
whole-grain
formulations
affect the
baker's choice
of enzymes?

bakers," Mr. Forman said. "Xylanases,
oxidases and certain lipases can do this.
Because of the high bran content,
cellulases, while traditionally not used in
white bread, may provide some benefit."
Do enzymes have a place in wholewheat and whole-grain formulations?
"Absolutely!" exclaimed Nicole Rees, applications associate, Innovative Cereal Systems, Wilsonville, OR. "People have heard
about extending shelf life with enzymes,
but not everyone understands that they
can also help with processing issues."
At Enzyme Development Corp., New
York, NY, sales and marketing director
C. Peter Moodie observed that, for wholegrain formulations, bakers will be most
interested in pentosanases and xylanases.
This preference was confirmed by Danisco's Ms. Boll, who said, "The addition of
enzymes such as xylanases or oxidative

ᮣ Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005
recommend daily consumption of at least
three 1-oz equivalents of whole-grain foods.
Attractive bread and rolls can help consumers achieve this goal.

April 2005 / BAKING & SNACK / 81

Baking & Snack - April 2005

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