Keeping it natural

Some bakers select all-natural dough conditioners to help maintain a clean label. For example, Briess Malt & Ingredients Co., Chilton, Wis., produces malted barley flours and a combination of natural blends using wheat flour, barley and dextrose.

Dough conditioner selection depends on the type of dough being made. “If you are using a diastatic malted barley flour, the enzyme activity and the enzyme in the malted barley — the highest percentage being alpha amylase — will relax the dough, breaking down the starches into fermentable sugars,” says Judie Giebel, technical service representative for Briess. “Malted barley flours are used at a low percentage level to standardize the flour, depending on the wheat crop.”

Diastatic malted barley flour provides diastase, an enzyme that converts the starch in damaged starch granules to sugars that are used by the yeast during the fermenting period.

Bakers can measure or test the enzyme level in the flour using an amylograph. If it falls between 400 and 600 units, the flour has good strength. If it is weak, the baker can add diastatic malted barley flour to adjust the levels accordingly.

“The biggest advantage of using the natural dough conditioner with the high level of amylase is it lends optimum physical properties to the dough,” Giebel says. “Bakers will get a more uniform loaf size, increase volume and have a more symmetric loaf. It breaks down the shreds and the cracks for a smoother crust. Generally, the dough is more elastic. If your dough is too tight, as it starts to rise, it may develop shreds or cracks, but the malted barley dough conditioner aids with stretch.”

A natural barley-based dough conditioner also helps aid in browning because of the protease. When it breaks down, the protease releases amino acids that contribute to the Maillard reaction.

For an artisan-style bread, a malted barley flour with lower enzyme activity can improve the crumb internally and lend a softer texture. Malted barley flours contribute to a nice, uniform cell structure and aid in the fermentation process. The natural diastatic barley enzymes are particularly helpful in a long fermentation process, such as a sourdough bread.

Barley malt's natural humectancy helps finished products retain some of their moisture, which prevents some of the staling action and aids in shelf life.

Making it work

Brolite Products Inc. Streamwood, Ill., offers more than 50 different dough conditioners, notes Dave DelGhingaro, vice president. “There are so many different types of bakeries out there, even within the same company, various locations might use different equipment or various modifications in processing. All of these factor into the choice of a dough conditioner,” DelGhingaro says. Field testing is a vital step in selecting the right dough conditioner to work in any particular operation.

“Organics are certainly growing, people want a clean, attractive label, but still need to add volume or strength or shelf life to their products,” DelGhingaro adds. “There is a big push right now for products that are perceived as more natural or more healthy. Companies are looking for an impressive label claim, but want their products to look and taste the same. In addition to functionality, cost is an issue. Keeping cost under control can be a challenge in a highly fortified baked product.”

While some bakers are moving away from bromate, the final shape of the baked product sometimes determines ingredient selection. For example, a Kaiser roll, Beavan says, is difficult to make without bromate.

“What you're looking for is an even rate of expansion, any deviation from that is going to affect the Kaiser cut. On the top of a Kaiser roll, the definition of the cut and the feathering on the sides of the cut are key quality and identity issues. Kaiser rolls should be big and bold, and customers expect them to look just like that every time. Selection of the dough conditioner, the amount and duration of steam in the oven, are both critical factors to maintaining the identity and quality of product with a particular shape, like a Kaiser roll or a hoagie.”