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An increased focus on health and wellness is a well-established trend that shows no sign of slowing and has only gained momentum from the pandemic. As this trend evolves, so too does consumers’ ‘wish list’ when it comes to the foods they crave. This evolution is certainly felt within the baking industry, where shifting lifestyle patterns directly impact consumer choices. Checking labels is already an established habit, and now consumers are looking for healthier options that support their health and wellness ambitions. Among the most sought-after baked goods are those with whole grains, added fibers and reduced salt and sugar.
These better-for-you baked goods are in demand for a few reasons. Whole grain foods promote healthy digestion and heart health, and dietary fibers are known to be essential for a healthy diet.
Additionally, most people consume too much salt: on average 9-12 grams per day, or around twice the recommended maximum level of intake according to the World Health Organization (WHO)1. Both the use of whole grains and reduction in salt have global attention, though it’s important to note that there are regional differences in the way they are defined and applied as they relate to baked goods.
Still, development of these better-for-you options is high on the agenda for the baking industry as manufacturers look to align products to current trends. It’s still important for them to hit the mark on freshness, shelf life and delicious taste, but checking all of these boxes presents some challenges. Baking with whole grain flours can adversely impact dough tolerance and elasticity, resulting in products with less volume and a dense texture.
A lower quality flour and a lower amount of functional gluten could also impact volume. While there is a simple solution here – adding vital wheat gluten – it’s a costly one, especially considering the increasing focus on cost management within the industry. The better-for-you trend toward salt reduction impacts dough stability and reduces its tolerance during processing, which could create a less-than-ideal crumb structure, texture and overall cohesiveness.
Enzymes can help to solve these and other hurdles that manufacturers face in the development of better-for-you baked goods. As naturally occurring biological catalysts, enzymes only interact with specific molecules, called substrate, to perform their desired function. They play a key role in food processing, improve dough machinability, process tolerance and loaf volume, and deliver important benefits in baked goods, such as delayed staling and increased softness. Determining the ideal dosage (and often combination) of enzymes is influenced by the application plus a wide range of variables such as the recipe, type of flour and desired shelf life, among others. In short, there is no one-size-fits-all enzyme solution.
A comprehensive enzyme toolbox can help manufacturers create an enzyme solution designed to solve their specific needs and challenges. DSM brings over 150 years of experience perfecting the use of enzymes for baking, making us the ideal partner for manufacturers seeking optimal enzyme solutions for their better-for-you baked goods. For example, the use of a glucose oxidase, such as BakeZyme® Go Pure, with a hemicellulase can optimize a whole grain bread recipe with increased fibers for improved stability and tolerance.
Creating high-quality baked goods with reduced salt can be optimized using a lipase, such as Panamore® Golden, to improve dough tolerance as well as crumb structure and volume. Award-winning BakeZyme® Master and BakeZyme® Fresh XL, both key components of our enzyme portfolio, can further help to maximize freshness, flexibility and foldability in increasingly popular on-the-go applications such as ready-made sandwiches and tortillas as well as help ensure bread’s freshness, moistness and resilience.
It’s worth repeating that the ideal enzyme solution is best designed case by case, loaf by loaf. Here, DSM’s experts tap into their deep technical knowledge to understand the desired results and how enzymes can optimize the solution to achieve it. Regardless of the final product, enzymes are natural, cost-effective and sustainable tools available to manufacturers to help them develop on-trend baked goods that align with shifting consumer preferences and delight with each bite.
DSM’s team of baking experts aims to be a trusted partner for customers looking to create label-friendly, whole wheat bread with great taste and texture— and no synthetical emulsifiers like DATEM. Working together, we can harness innovation to create bread products that taste delicious and have broad consumer appeal.
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