Whey protein concentrate provides added protein fortification to carbohydrate-dense products.

Photo courtesy of Hilmar Ingredients.

Cheese can be added to bakery products in a variety of forms.

Powders: Cheese powders provide flavor in muffins, scones and breads. “Chipotle cheddar and other trendy cheese flavors can add a high-quality, artisan touch. Cheese powders also can be used in extruded products, such as whey crisps. These cheesy crisps then can be used for innovative, savory flavor profiles in baked nutritional bars or trail mixes,” says Grace Harris, manager of applications and business development, Hilmar Ingredients, Hilmar, Calif.

Pastes: In order to capture the cheese flavor, fresh cheese often is added to bakery products at 20 percent to 30 percent of the flour weight, says Marcia Rauwerdink, director, marketing and strategic planning, DairiConcepts L.P., Springfield, Mo. Her company's solution is a soft paste that is incorporated without grinding or preprocessing. Usage rates vary, but the cheddar paste generally lowers the percentage of cheese to between 3 percent and 10 percent, Rauwerdink adds. “This can provide a savings of 35 percent to 50 percent by replacing one-half to two-thirds of the fresh cheese or club cheese. When doing this type of reformulation, oil can be added back to replace the fat from the cheese, and flour or other ingredients can be used to return the solids to the appropriate level,” she says.

Lowfats and special melts: One concern with adding cheese is increasing the fat content of a product, but using reduced fat cheese comes with its own set of challenges. Mozzarella on pizza provides a good example. “Typically, lowfat and nonfat mozzarella is very tough to chew, has opacity color issues when heated due to loss of light scattering because of the low fat content, and tends to develop a tough skin on the surface when it cools after heating. While research in this area continues, large strides have been made by the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research team to overcome these performance hurdles,” Sommer explains. Pizza can be reinvented in a lower fat version by creating pizza bread with the pepperoni and mozzarella baked inside.

Milk, yogurt and whey powders

Other dairy products also come with benefits and challenges. In order to save money, bakers may try to reduce the use of milk powders, but by adding more milk powder, they can produce creamy, high-end desserts that offer the perception of less guilt. Both nonfat dry milk and milk protein concentrate can boost protein content of puddings and cream fillings. Satiety claims are very popular and are a good fit for bakery items that include protein and fiber.

Whey ingredients also are ideal for bakery. “Whey comes in many forms and most are useful in bakery applications,” says Hilmar's Harris. “Whey powder is used for its browning reaction and gives excellent color and flavor development in baked products. Whey protein concentrate, with its complete amino acid profile, gives a nutritional boost to foods for folks with an active lifestyle. It also provides functional benefits including water binding and gelation for improved shelf-life and texture. Whey protein isolate can be used as an egg white replacer because of its foaming and whipping characteristics–ideal in applications such as meringues and cakes. Whey proteins can replace other egg components and provide emulsification and binding properties similar to eggs.”

Many other baked products can benefit from the inclusion of dairy products, Harris adds. Baked nutrition bars can include both cheese flavors and whey protein concentrate or isolate. Breads, cookies and muffins fortified with whey protein concentrate provide higher levels of protein in otherwise carbohydrate-dense products. Whey protein concentrate can be viewed as a partial replacement for flour in this type of application. Pizza crusts also can be fortified with whey protein concentrate to provide more protein.

Yogurt has often been touted as one of the “superfoods.” While fresh yogurt can be added to bakery formulations to boost nutrition and improve shelf life, many bakers will find it more convenient to use yogurt powder. Yogurt powder often is used as a topical coating for cereal or snack mixes or as a component in compound coating to enrobe bars.

Universal appeal

Dairy ingredients can be added to bakery items to boost protein, calcium and phosphorous. Dairy delivers the triple play of flavor, function and nutrition, that results in increased value for bakers and healthful indulgence for consumers of all ages.