An effective alternative to chemical oxidizing agents in baking

Challenges in baking are visible today, particularly with the rise of global  urbanization. Bakeries are not only increasing their industrialization and scale of operations, they also have to answer to consumer’s high expectations and standards of freshness and authenticity. Bakers are therefore continuing their quest to increase efficiency, consistency, freshness and naturalness of their products, regardless of the quality and availability of wheat or their location.

Until now, azodicarbonamide (ADA) has been used by bakers in several countries such as Brazil, the U.S. and Canada, to alter the functionality of the gluten proteins during industrial bread making and improve bread characteristics. Due to regulatory restrictions or in view of the current trends towards the use of more natural ingredients, the use of enzymes as oxidizing agents can be an attractive alternative. This paper explores the use of azodicarbonamide (ADA) in bread baking and an effective alternative through the use of glucose oxidase from Penicillium chrysogenum.