Baking & Snack - August 2020 - 47

FORMULATION
Emulsifiers

WORK SMARTER,
NOT HARDER
Emulsifiers give bread dough the strength and softness to endure high-speed production.
by Charlotte Atchley

Ever since bread production became commercialized
and automated, bakers have been trying to improve how
dough moves through equipment without damaging the
texture of the finished product. Emulsifiers have long
been a part of that solution.
"When we refer to improved machinability, we're referring to the timeless challenge bakers face of obtaining
maximum dough absorption while being able to handle
and process the dough through automated equipment
without it sticking to the equipment, which results in line
interruptions," said Tim Cottrell, director of business development, emulsifiers and texturants, Kerry Ingredients.
Emulsifiers aid in reaching that maximum absorption, resulting in a homogenous and stable dough with
a drier surface. All these characteristics make for a more
manageable product on a commercial bread line and
better results for the bottom line.
"The right emulsifier can help bakers improve the
dough's tolerance during the manufacturing process,
lowering yield loss and manufacturing costs," said Jim
Robertson, director, emulsifier portfolio at Corbion.
"Emulsifiers also help increase batter stability and have a
positive effect on dough properties like elasticity, extensibility, stickiness, gas retention and mixing time."

The magic of emulsifiers
Emulsifiers are common in batter applications for their
ability to blend oils and water, but in bread dough, they
take on a new role as conditioning systems.
"They can improve overall dough stability by
strengthening networks of wheat protein and starch
during proofing and, ultimately, help produce finished

baked goods offering greater volume, increased external symmetry and better internal crumb structure,"
said Troy Boutte, bakingHUB and innovation director,
AB Mauri North America.
Not all emulsifiers are the same, however, and their functionality can vary. Choosing the ingredients comes down to
what a baker needs from the dough as it's machined.
"They can strengthen a dough and act as a binding
agent," said Ken Skrzypiec, vice president of Eastern sales,
Brolite Products. "They can also aid in the dispersing of
dry ingredients. Emulsifiers can give the dough tolerance
and stability."
In general, emulsifiers are divided into two categories,
according to Steven Mallory, senior application specialist, DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences: crumb softening
and dough strengthening.
"For typical bread, buns and rolls, monoglycerides
have been used for many years for crumb softening and
shelf life in the finished loaf," he said. "Dough strengtheners are very functional to increase the quality of the
gluten structure, which results in improved production
tolerance and loaf volume."
Diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides
(DATEM), for example, increases the elasticity and extensibility of the gluten, resulting in improved gas retention and increased volume. DuPont's Panodan DATEM
creates a bread dough that is well-suited for high-speed
production lines because it makes the dough soft and
extensible but not sticky.
"Sticky doughs are difficult to sheet, mold and handle,"
Mr. Mallory explained. "Panodan DATEM allows the
dough to process through equipment such as extrusion

Custom-designed
emulsifying solutions
enable bakers to meet
their dough processing
needs with conventional
emulsifiers or clean
label ingredients.
Brolite Products

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