Baking & Snack - April 2021 - 90

featured technical expert Q&A
LESAFFRE CORP.
JIM GLUHOSKY

Jim Gluhosky has had his hands on every part of the process
when it comes to yeast-raised baked goods.
" All in all, anything that deals with yeast-raised products, I've
had experience in it, " Mr. Gluhosky said, " from operations (large
and small), to formulations, plant management, efficiencies and
quality improvements. "
He's put that experience to good use, having been with Lesaffre
Corp. for 23 years. Mr. Gluhosky is currently the company's senior technical services manager, responsible for breadmaking in
the US and Canada.
Mr. Gluhosky first discovered his passion for baking when he
started out as a porter in a small retail bakery, washing, cleaning and filling flour bins. He continued to learn hands-on
skills such as mixing, shaping, proofing, baking, filling/topping
and packaging.
" From the onset, the experience has been very rewarding to
me, as each day there are different challenges and discoveries that
prove that baking is both an art and a science, " he said.

Mr. Gluhosky graduated
from Kansas State University
in 1984 with a degree in Bakery
Science and Management. Upon
graduation, he decided to work on
the operations side of wholesale baking. He then spent many years in management, including plant management, at various
wholesale bread and bun plants.
His early years at Lesaffre were spent providing demonstrations and service for yeast and fermentation, as well as developing
yeast foods specific to the conditions of flour and water quality
at each plant. Now, he and his team spend their time on the ingredient side, introducing new ingredients for yeast-raised products that are organic and provide a clean label, longer shelf life,
strength, symmetry and flavor. Mr. Gluhosky said they also use
dataloggers, risographs and other measuring and quality standard tools to assist with their demonstrations and service calls.

How can plant conditions or water quality impact a
finished yeast-raised product?

How can a bakery keep its yeast-raised products
consistent year-round?

When plants become warmer and more humid, the rate of fermentation in yeast-raised products increases. That could cause doughs
that gas up and proof more rapidly. Conversely, when plants become colder and less humid, the fermentation rate decreases.
That causes a slowing down of gassing and proofing. Adjusting
the yeast levels or dough temperatures up or down will help offset
these changes.
Additionally, major ingredients such as flour and water can have
an impact on yeast-raised products. Yeast consumes and ferments
some of the carbohydrates from the damaged starches of flour due to
milling, and the amount of damage as well as enzymes (alpha amylases) present will have a bearing on the amount of carbohydrates
that the yeast is able to ferment. The age of the flour and some of
its components, such as protein content and quality, can also fluctuate from shipment to shipment, causing many variables impacting gas retention and dough processing. It's important to ask for a
Certificate of Analysis from your flour mill so you can predict what
changes need to be made for each shipment that you receive.
For water, the mineral content and alkalinity can affect both fermentation rates and dough processing. Soft water will tend to yield
sticky doughs, whereas hard water will slow the fermentation rate.
In most cases, your flour will act as a buffer to these effects, but
there are times where ingredients could be added to neutralize the
water impurities.

When your plant experiences a temperature variation, the best way to
overcome the effects is to adjust your yeast levels or dough temperatures. Warmer and more humid conditions usually require a reduction in yeast or targeting lower dough temperatures, whereas colder
and less humid conditions will require an addition of yeast to your formulas or higher targeted dough temperatures. In warmer months, an
increase in the level of mold inhibitors is sometimes warranted.
If your plant is making a sponge or flour brew, the length of fermentation time can be adjusted in cases where sponge storage conditions can't be controlled.
If your plant has hard (>150ppm) and high alkaline (>100ppm)
water, the addition of an acid such as monocalcium phosphate or citric acid could help neutralize the hardness. For soft (<60ppm) water,
the addition of calcium sulfate or enzymes that cause a drying effect to the dough will help. It's recommended that these ingredients
should only be considered when producing solid or liquid sponges.

90 Baking & Snack April 2021 / www.bakingbusiness.com

How do you work with bakers to create new products using yeast, which many assume is a very
standard ingredient in baked goods such as flour?
Many bakers are following the trend of developing products that
are clean label, organic, non-GMO, nutritional, healthy and have
unique flavors. The type of yeast that you use for leavening purposes is important in creating these products.

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Baking & Snack - April 2021

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