Baking F
Customised enzyme systems for constant quality
T
by Dr Lutz Popper and Sven Mattutat, Mühlenchemie, Germany
he quality of wheat is inseparably linked with the quality of the baked goods. To meet the variable requirements of the market, tailor-made flour treatment is a key issue in the milling industry. Highly functional enzyme systems are the most efficient and economical tool to standardise the baking properties of flours. Millers all over the globe are confronted with a host of various problems. The most difficult challenge is the purchase of raw material. Firstly, being a natural product, grain is subject to considerable fluctuations in quality; these may be caused by climatic factors such as heat, precipitation and frost or by fertilisers and irrigation or bug damage. Secondly, mills have to face the imponderables of the raw material markets.
Mixtures of different origins impair wheat standardisation
Volatile prices and restricted availabilities affect those countries most depending on wheat imports. For instance, a miller in Algeria may have to deal with French wheat one day, and on the next with wheat lots from Canada, the United States, Ukraine, Russia or other wheat exporting areas. Despite this difficult
situation, the flour must have consistent properties and meet the requirements of such diverse end products as bread, baguettes, rolls, wafers, crackers or pasta.
Mühlenchemie: The perfectionist in flour treatment
The use of enzymes and additives is a tried-and-tested way of solving such problems with raw materials. Mühlenchemie is a pioneer in the standardisation and optimisation of flour, and over the decades it has devised a multitude of innovative solutions enabling the industry to enhance even problematical flours.
Best results with precisely adjusted enzyme systems
The main focus lies on the development of complex enzyme systems, which are much more effective than single ingredients. Over years of applied research, Mühlenchemie’s R&D team has outlined that many single enzymes such as amylases, glucoamylases, proteases, hemicellulases and lipases, with their different specific effects and strengths, do not achieve the best possible results. In the quality standardisation of flour, especially, what matters most is the interaction of various enzymes and other active ingredients. Mühlenchemie’s enzyme systems make use of the synergistic potential of the individual substances and combine them to create efficient flour improvers.
Table. 1: Flour treatment agents from MC product range Challenge in flour Weak gluten quality
Low volume yield
MC product series - solution
Function
EMCEgluten Enhancer
Stabilize the gluten network in weak and composite flour
EMCEgluten Plus
Increase volume of the baked goods
EMCEvit C
Increased gluten content and strength
Alphamalt
Optimize flour quality for all kinds of baking applications
Powerzym Insufficent water absorption High Falling Number (FN)
Alphamalt WA Pure
Increase water absorption and dough yield
Deltamalt
Control of FN and baking performance
Betamalt
Reduces FN, improves the browning
EMCEmalt
Reduces FN, improves the browning
Alphamalt A
Improves fermentation and volume yield, no effect on FN
Rowelit
Buffering agent to reduce enzyme activity
Alphamalt Fresh
Prolongs softness and moistness of the crumb
Bug damage
EMCEbest BugStop
Enables the use of bug-damage flour in baking applications
Heat damage
Booster
Balance the properties of various wheat flour qualities
Low Falling Number, sprout damage Freshkeeping and softness
50 | March 2020 - Milling and Grain