When cleaning up dough conditioners, it’s important that bakers don’t just jump right in; they need to test the water first. According David Guilfoyle, group manager, Bakery and Fats & Oils, DuPont Nutrition & Health, bakers will always need to approach clean-label dough conditioning with a systems approach, combining several enzymes to mimic what a single dough conditioner can accomplish. Working with a blend has some definite advantages rather than trying to work with different enzymes individually. By blending enzymes, the ingredients are all evenly dispersed throughout the dough, improving functionality. Bakers no longer have to rely on operators to scale these micro ingredients. “Most, importantly, enzyme blends provide both a functional clean-label dough conditioning system and a high-quality product without sacrificing the integrity of the baked good,” said David DelGhingaro, president, Brolite Products. This requires bakers work closely with a supplier, which Brolite does, to address a product’s needs and the parameter limitations to find the right enzyme blend for a specific formulation. Most offer close side-by-side work with technical experts to find the solution among a company’s enzyme offerings. “DuPont has a fully trained technical services staff who can assist with the startup of using enzymes in a bakery and how to begin the replacement of dough conditioners in a clean-label formula,” Mr. Guilfoyle explained. Because the company manufactures both chemical dough conditioners and enzymes, he said they understand how both ingredients work and can find the enzymes that will mimic the characteristics delivered by chemical dough conditioners. Cain Food Industries also aims to educate bakers on the effects of each enzyme solution as they are testing. “Therefore, our customers understand how to, and are comfortable with, adjusting as their processing conditions fluctuate,” said John Hinds, manager, Cain Food Industries Innovation Center. Because of the many parameters and considerations impacting the functionality of enzymes, testing is of the utmost importance. “It is important to run plant trials to determine how a proposed solution performs in practice and can be adapted to the needs of the baker,” said Jan van Eijk, PhD, research director, baking ingredients, Lallemand Baking Solutions. Lallemand offers technical service representatives who have a bakery background and can run plant trials to optimize the process and formula. Enzyme-based dough conditioners can be fitted to each bakers’ formula. J&K Ingredients’s Verdi and Soft Bake product lines offer several ingredients that are all enzyme-based and label-¬friendly. “Our technical team is very willing and able to work with our bakery partners to ensure success,” said Nigel Weston, vice-president, R&D, J&K. Corbion offers its Pristine line of clean-label dough conditioners that provides some flexible options. Some contain ascorbic acid and others don’t for bakers who would like to add it themselves. There are solutions for sponge-and-dough products as well as straight dough. “There are different levels of complexity when replacing dough conditioners,” said Jessie Yakubisin, senior technologist in functional ingredients, Corbion.. “We have different solutions that can help with that. Also in terms of rheology, we have different solutions that can have a tighter dough feel than a more extensible dough-feel.” Corbion offers assistance finding the right solution or level for a specific formula. “We’re always willing to help customers figure out where their level needs to be if they need to combine enzyme solutions,” she said. “We have a technical service group that will come out and run the product to make sure the enzyme is working properly.” Armed with information on process and product, bakers can work with enzyme and dough conditioner suppliers to find the right clean-label dough conditioner for them.