Baking & Snack - December 2018 - 47

Sensient Flavors' SensaSalt enhances the
positive attributes and diminishes the perception of negative attributes without additional sodium content. This collection of
yeast extract-based flavor enhancers reduces sodium while maintaining texture and
the flavor profile in bakery applications.

Answers in leavening
If bakers have replaced or removed as
much salt as they dare, they can also
turn to chemical leavening agents as
another avenue to further reduce sodium. These are often the main source
of sodium in cakes and pastries, Ms.
Clifford explained, specifically sodium
bicarbonate and acids such as sodium
aluminum phosphate and sodium acid
pyrophosphate.
To create the leavening gases to get the
necessary rise, a source of carbon dioxide
reacts with a food-grade acid that is capable of making gas. This chemical reaction
creates the lift in a variety of bakery applications, including cakes, biscuits, crackers, cookies, muffins and pizza crusts.
They also impact crumb resiliency, batter
strength, structure and the final pH of a
product, which impacts color and flavor.
Chemical leavening agents cover a wide
range of ingredients, some high in sodium
and other not, which gives bakers options
when it comes to reducing this nutrient.
Sodium bicarbonate, also known as
baking soda, is the most common chemical leavening agent and is an easy target
for reducing sodium in bakery products.
Rob Berube, technical service manager,
Church & Dwight Co., suggested bakers
take a look at potassium bicarbonate or
ammonium bicarbonate as potential substitutions for sodium bicarbonate.
"Most often the ready solution is to
substitute potassium bicarbonate for sodium bicarbonate," he said. This is be-

cause, when formulators make up for the
difference in molecular weight between
these two ingredients, the results are the
same. "To get the same amount of CO2
release from potassium bicarbonate, you
have to have 19% more of it than sodium bicarbonate," Mr. Berube explained.
"If you do substitute at that weight, you
don't have to do anything to adjust the
level of leavening acid."
Ammonium bicarbonate serves well in
applications such as cookies or crackers
that don't contain very much moisture.
In products where moisture content is
too high, the formulation holds onto the
ammonium gas produced, which no one
is looking for in a finished product.
Mr. Berube urged bakers seeking to
change their leavening system to pay attention to the differences in bakes and
adjust accordingly. "If you change the
leavening system radically, you might
see some differences in the timing of
CO2 and the way the product bakes, so
that's something to be mindful of," he
said. Bakers can also use a combination
of alternative bicarbonates with sodium
bicarbonate to minimize the impact.
Church & Dwight offers these chemical
leavening agents as well as flow aids that
can prevent caking during usage.
Bakers can also look at the other side
of the chemical leavening reaction- the
leavening acid - to reduce sodium. When
replacing this, formulators must consider
the rate of reaction and the neutralizing
value. "The value is used to determine the
amount of acid needed so when combined
with baking soda, it produces a neutral
pH," said Amr Shaheed, technical service
manager, food and beverage, Innophos,
Inc. "Neutral pH is important. An unbalanced ratio has a direct impact on pH, and
therefore, both color and flavor, which is
critical to consumers of baked goods."

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Baking & Snack - December 2018

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