Baking & Snack - March 2015 - 47

FORMULATION
Enzymes

Highly specific in their activity, modern
bakery enzymes hold the keys
to functional improvements.
by Donna Berry

Enzymes are the powerhouses behind the commercial
production of many baked goods, oftentimes incognito.
With current scientific advances, suppliers are able to offer
highly specific functional enzymes that can replace nonlabel-friendly ingredients, yielding clean-label products
with a reduced-carbon footprint.
"The use of enzymes in the production of baked goods
greatly contributes to sustainability and a reduced footprint by reducing waste and off-spec products," said Jan
van Eijk, research director, baking ingredients, Lallemand
Baking Solutions, Montreal, QC. "The most significant
reduction in waste is accomplished by using shelf-lifeextending enzymes, such as maltogenic amylase, which
keep bread fresh for a longer period of time, resulting in
less stale bread being thrown away, more efficient distribution of bread, fewer line changeovers and more."
Functional properties enable such savings. "Enzymes
help ensure that less bread is discarded as waste," said
Soren Lund, regional marketing manager, Novozymes
North America, Inc., Franklinton, NC. In doughs, they
enable the starch structure to retain moisture better.
"This means that the bread remains soft for a longer
period of time," he said. "This also means that industrial bakers do not have to distribute bread to the supermarket so often, so they can reduce their transportation costs."

Compared with other performance products like
emulsifiers, the usage level of enzymes is much lower for
comparable results, according to Lutz Popper, PhD, head
of R&D, SternEnzym GmbH & Co. KG, Ahrensburg,
Germany. "This presents potential savings in logistics,
transport, warehouse and production costs and, thus, in
carbon footprint," he said.
It's clear this class of bakery additives brings a multitude of benefits to the bench. "Enzymes can be used by
bakers for many functions, including helping with crust
color, controlling fermentation, improving volume, making a softer crumb and slowing down the staling process,"
observed Denis Wellington, president, BreadPartners Inc.,
Cinnaminson, NJ. "Before the introduction of modern enzyme technology, each of these functions would have required a separate ingredient, and each would have had to
be included on the ingredient label."

Today's consumers expect sliced
breads to keep their fresh texture
for extended periods, a formulating
need that today's enzymes answer.
DuPont Nutrition & Health

Lock-and-key system
To maximize the potential of commercial enzymes, bakers need to understand how they function and the types
available for commercial use. Basically, enzymes bring reactants together so that the baker doesn't have to rely on
the natural pace of molecules' chance meetings.
All enzymes are proteins. "They are made up of small
amino acids strung together in a linear polymer," said
Defne Saral, global marketing manager, food enzymes,
DuPont Nutrition & Health, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Enzymes are catalysts, not ingredients, and they are
used at parts-per-million levels, according to Michael
Beavan, director, technical services, bakery ingredients
division, Watson Inc., West Haven, CT. "Enzymes align
specific parts of the basic ingredients already present in the

www.bakingandsnack.com / March 2015 Baking & Snack 47

http://www.bakingandsnack.com

Baking & Snack - March 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baking & Snack - March 2015