Some foodservice operators take the “If it ain’t broke, don’t repair it” strategy, whereas others suppose issues are by no means adequate, in response to chef Leo Spizzirri, a Chicago native and first-generation Italian American with deep roots within the pizza and baking industries. He spoke about “tinkering with dough recipes” on the latest thirty eighth annual Worldwide Pizza Expo.
One strategy to tinker with the dough used to fabricate pizza crusts, tortillas and flatbreads — three classes booming in each foodservice and retail classes — is to incorporate emulsifying substances, which may enhance manufacturing, shelf life, look and the general efficiency of dough.
“Emulsifiers are used to stabilize the interactions between oil and water by lowering floor pressure or, extra merely put, emulsifiers bind oil and water,” stated Jennifer Farrell, analysis and improvement supervisor, Gonnella Baking Co., Schaumburg, Sick. “As a result of this truth, we will definitely see a discount in staling and elevated pliability in varied doughs and breads, like tortillas and pitas. Typically, we see elevated efficiency within the bake itself, when it comes to bake peak on a pizza dough or softness in a tortilla, relying on the kind of emulsifier.”
In most doughs, emulsifiers should not wanted to stop the dough from separating into oil and water phases. Mobility is restricted by dough consistency, because the viscous dough prevents the fats from transferring round freely. That’s why emulsifiers are generally known as surfactants within the baking business.
“Emulsifiers work together on the molecular floor,” stated Tenu Adeosun, senior analysis scientist, Vantage Meals. “By coating the floor of starches, they will delay the starch/air interactions that contribute to staling.”
Emulsifiers may additionally work together with gluten proteins throughout mixing. This helps strengthen the dough and stabilize it to face up to extreme kneading.
Emulsifiers fluctuate in performance, with many doughs utilizing a couple of in a systems-type strategy. These methods will differ for recent, frozen and parbaked dough, and bakers should contemplate different parameters akin to shelf life, distribution and temperature variations. Emulsifiers are available quite a lot of types starting from shortening-like supplies to powdered or beaded types to liquids. The unique bakery emulsifier is available in a shell.
Eggs are a pure supply of lecithin, a phospholipid that capabilities as an emulsifier in baked items; nevertheless, eggs should not sometimes utilized in doughs supposed for pizzas, tortillas or flatbreads. That’s why some bakers use commercially produced lecithin substances obtained from corn or soybeans. These substances can prolong the shelf lifetime of yeast-raised baked merchandise, akin to pizza crusts, by slowing starch retrogradation. Lecithin additionally strengthens gluten to enhance each the elasticity and extensibility of yeast-raised doughs, which make them extra machinable. The improved gluten energy leads to increased gasoline retention, yielding higher quantity and crumb construction.
Mono- and diglycerides, which happen naturally as minor constituents in fat and oils, perform as emulsifiers in doughs. Business mono- and diglycerides are sometimes manufactured utilizing a chemical course of to connect particular fatty acids to sure hydroxyl teams to acquire the specified performance.
Diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides, or DATEM, is made by chemically manipulating mono- and diglycerides into extra polarized compounds. The result’s a extra environment friendly emulsifier. When monoglycerides are reacted with ethylene oxide, the result’s an emulsifier often known as ethoxylated monoglyceride (EMG). Each DATEM and EMG are valued for his or her dough strengthening properties; nevertheless, they’re poor crumb softeners. Emulsifiers with one of the best crumb softening impact are typically inferior dough stabilizers. That’s why a methods strategy is commonly greatest.
Some chemically produced emulsifiers exert each dough stabilizing and crumb softening motion. When used on the beneficial most stage of 0.5% primarily based on flour weight, calcium stearoyl lactylate (CSL), for instance, will increase dough absorption, measurably improves dough mixing tolerance and machinability, boosts quantity, and enhances grain and texture, crust tenderness and maintains properties of baked pizza crust. One other is sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL), a free-flowing powder that’s insoluble in water however readily soluble in sizzling fat and oils. When used on the beneficial ranges for a selected software, with a most of 0.5% primarily based on flour weight, SSL will increase dough absorption, strengthens gluten construction and improves mixing tolerance, machinability and total high quality.
“The position of emulsifiers vastly depends upon the substances and processing situations of every software,” Mr. Adeosun stated.
Vantage Meals affords specialised hydrated emulsifier packages designed for pizza doughs and flatbreads.
“We additionally present an assortment of shortenings and liquid shortenings that present the wanted fats content material and emulsifier performance from lecithin and mono- and diglycerides,” Mr. Adeosun stated.
The performance emulsifiers present in a pizza dough can vary from product high quality to the very energy of the product.
“In pizza doughs, emulsifiers can guarantee a crust that’s crispy on the skin and comfortable and ethereal on the within, in addition to assist forestall tearing and improve the colour of the completed crust,” stated Ralf Tschenscher, baking enterprise improvement supervisor, Lesaffre.
Emulsifiers play many roles in tortilla manufacturing, from aiding in gluten formation and lowering stickiness to shortening mixing time and sustaining uniform moisture content material all through processing.
“The usage of emulsifiers in tortilla manufacturing results in uniform dough balls with higher sheetability and diminished tearing,” Mr. Tschenscher stated.
This results in fixing many challenges completed tortillas face as soon as stacked and packaged collectively.
“In tortillas, substances with emulsifying properties are used primarily to cut back the tendency of tortillas of sticking collectively, to enhance rollability, enhance softness and to stop breakage, particularly throughout their first 5 to seven days of storage,” stated Brian Fatula, vice chairman, Lallemand Baking. “In flatbread, akin to pitas and naan bread, the place moisture retention and rollability are paramount, substances with emulsifying properties can be used to stop starch recrystallization and water redistribution.”
There are further concerns with frozen doughs for pizzas and flatbreads. Any kind of dough that undergoes freezing and frozen storage previous to proofing and baking will endure injury to the gluten-starch community, in response to Mr. Fatula.
“The starch granule construction will reorganize, and the gluten community will weaken by the breakage of the disulfide bonds,” he stated. “Until the dough is closely oxidized and strengthened, it would present indicators of diminished stability and decreased quantity.”
Whereas recent tortillas and flatbreads could use emulsifiers to enhance rollability and shelf life, with frozen dough it’s all about sustaining energy because the dough undergoes the freeze-thaw cycle.
“When working with frozen dough, sustaining dough energy is the important thing to making sure high quality within the completed product,” stated Yanling Yin, PhD and director of bakery purposes, Corbion. “The dough energy might be diminished resulting from giant ice crystal formation throughout freezing or freeze-thaw cycles. Emulsifiers may help reduce water migration throughout freezing and the formation of enormous ice crystals throughout storage.”
For parbaked merchandise, unacceptable chewiness or hardness is the primary concern. That may be eased with the addition of mono- and diglycerides, in response to Dr. Yin.
There’s a rising momentum amongst shoppers for nontraditional pizza doughs, tortillas and flatbreads. Some are formulated to be gluten-free, whereas others are excessive in protein or fiber. Others are infused with greens or legumes, akin to cauliflower, chickpeas and candy potatoes, however are nonetheless wheat-based.
“Some shoppers could settle for a change in texture or different consuming qualities when altering the flour system,” stated Margaret Walsh, senior scientist, Corbion. “Nevertheless, different shoppers could want gadgets that mimic a minimum of a number of the qualities of wheat flour-based variations. Emulsifiers could possibly assist modify these traits.”
These textural adjustments are the results of gluten elimination or discount. With out adequate gluten, a dough loses its capability to retain energy and elasticity.
“Nontraditional doughs infused with greens, legumes or are excessive in protein or fiber often require increased quantities of emulsifiers, and sometimes together with enzymes, to boost the consuming and shelf-life qualities of the completed baked good,” stated Artwork Posch, platform improvement supervisor, Kemin Meals Applied sciences.
That’s as a result of the added protein and fiber intrude with the constructing blocks of the dough.
“With the addition of additional protein or fiber, doughs want extra emulsification and ingredient options to degrade the fibers, which intrude bodily with the gluten community,’’ Mr. Fatula stated.
Historic grains akin to quinoa, teff and buckwheat are being utilized in better-for-you baked items. They’re gluten-free and contribute plant protein and fiber.
“With out gluten, the dough might lose its viscoelastic construction. It would have poor machinability, main dealing with points and poor yield,” Mr. Posch stated. “Mouthfeel can be affected by these grains. Completed merchandise can have a bitter aftertaste and a dry and brittle mouthfeel. Hydrocolloids present appropriate options to dough texture.
“Utilizing clear label hydrocolloids, akin to citrus fibers, bamboo fiber or different vegetable fibers with lentil proteins has proven related structural integrity to common dough,” Mr. Posch stated. “Ingredient optimization is required for every recipe primarily based on completed product performance.”
This text is an excerpt from the Might 2022 subject of Baking & Snack. To learn your complete function on Emulsifiers, click here.
