R AW M AT E R I A L S
A delicate balance: perfecting work with gluten-free ingredients As gluten-free bakery is decisively increasing its foothold into the mainstream market, growing by about 25% each year, research seeks to improve product taste, texture and nutritional profiles. In the absence of gluten, this has been a challenge. It takes exact science and
technology
to define and improve digestive wellness.
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It all starts with the dough. Monitoring and thorough testing for ingredient variations will enable close control of the dough processing and, ultimately, the product’s quality; this is especially important when dealing with different types of gluten-free flour with varying characteristics. The goal is to reach the ideal dough viscosity, which is unique to each, from corn-based dough to chickpea-based dough, for instance. Baking trials will help determine optimum values in each case. Also, a fundamental understanding of the ingredients and their individual physicochemical characteristics, such as solubility, gelling and emulsification properties, can help to predict their impact on viscosity – a key indicator of the dough and the quality of the final baked good. From the start of the process, the dough’s kneading properties offer useful information that can support formulation development. As single ingredients are added or changed, their effect on the whole dough system can be measured, necessary steps when developing products made by gluten-free flour. The International Association for Cereal Science and Technology (ICC) recently held a joint webinar with guest experts Aylin Sahin, a postdoctoral researcher at University College Cork (Cereal and Beverage Science Research Group), and specialists from Brabender – Stefan Jansen (application engineer) and Jessica Wiertz (manager Applications). We spoke with the specialists to further delve into the science explaining and supporting high-quality gluten-free bakery. “The right water absorption is one of the main important criteria for a proper crumb and a good product. Measuring the flour or the whole gluten-free formulation during kneading provides a helpful indication of how a gluten-free raw material acts during production. Moreover, different types of mixers cause different energy input during kneading which has a great impact on the development of any network,” they elaborate. Viscosity control ensures quality Consistent, quality gluten-free products begin with the incoming raw materials. Water absorption is an indicator that should be monitored from the start, as specialists recommend, to ensure the quality of incoming flour is as expected. In the R&D stage, when dough formulations are developed, the ideal viscosity is trialed or a certain viscosity can be targeted. For example, the target consistency for a chickpea flour will be
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44 BU (Brabender Units), while corn flour will have 150 BU – vvalues based on dough systems including 2% hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC, gluten replacer). Not only do the different types of gluten-free flours differ quite a lot, but there is also notable variation between different types of corn flours, the experts say. They illustrate that the particle size distribution is one of the factors responsible for this, e.g., if finely ground corn flour or corn grits are used; the target application for the flour analyzed also gives an indication for the right level of water absorption.
The International Association for Cereal Science and Technology Today ICC is one of the foremost international organizations in the field dedicated to international cooperation, the dissemination of knowledge, and the improvement in safety and quality of cereal-based foods. The Association has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria with members from all five continents represented.
