Balancing a formula
Ingredients don’t function in a vacuum. They function in a formula where there are many other ingredients for a chemical dough conditioner and the enzyme replacing it to interact with. And in the case of enzyme blends, formulators must also weigh how different enzymes interact with one another.
“Some enzymes have synergistic effects, and some can have adverse effects,” Mr. Guilfoyle said.
Chemical dough conditioners impact processing and product quality and consistency, but they also interact with other bakery ingredients present in the formula.
“These chemical dough conditioners have really strong interactions with flour or shortenings and other ingredients normally present in dough,” Dr. Waters said.
The same is true of enzymes, but those reactions heavily depend on each product’s specific formulation. Enzymes can modify the protein and starch in flour. It’s a balancing act, so combining the incorrect enzyme and dough conditioner can damage the carbohydrates, which then will no longer be able to hold water.
“Enzymes can absolutely interact very strongly with certain ingredients that can provide you a challenge or a good opportunity to combine with ingredients and achieve good functionality,” she explained.
Avoiding easy mistakes
There are some common pitfalls when replacing chemical dough conditioners with clean label enzymes. It’s easy, for example, to overdose an enzyme in a formulation, and that can alter finished product characteristics.
“Enzymes are difficult to scale and use since they are used in such small amounts and are very concentrated,” Mr. DelGhingaro said. “As a result, it’s easy to overdose, creating an improper enzyme balance in the formulation.”
It’s easy to believe that if a little is good, then more is better, but that isn’t the case with enzymes. Adding too much enzyme will cause a specific function to overpower the product and create a dough that’s too strong or crumb that’s too soft.
Despite enzymes’ wealth of functionality, they often don’t replace everything a chemical dough conditioner does. Something more will have to be tweaked or added.
“If a bakery needs to go ‘clean label,’ they are going to have to change something in the process,” Mr. Weston said. “For example, if the current dough conditioner contains DATEM, the volume and tolerance can be replaced with enzymes, but the thin eggshell crust that DATEM provides will need to come from the baking process.”
There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
As a result, bakers can work closely with suppliers to find just the right blend of enzymes that meet all their parameters and product characteristics to replace their chemical dough conditioners.
