Australian wheat in the SE Asian bread market

While rice and noodles remain staple foods throughout Asia, the production and consumption of bakery products and in particular bread is growing, in part at the expense of rice.

+T he demand for flour from the baking sector now ac counts for 26% of total flour use in South East Asia (SEA). Within the bread segment, sweet buns (Figure 1) have a market share of approximately 70%, white bread 24- 26% and wholemeal 1%. Approximately 70% of all bread products are produced in small and medium sized enterprises (SME) which manufacture mostly sweet buns with fillings. Around 18% bread products come from industrial-scale and 1 2% are produced in boutique bakeries. There is an expanding artisan bakery market. While SME bakeries currently deliver the greatest proportion of bakery products, the indicators are that automation and industrial-scale bakeries will continue to grow their market share, not necessarily at the expense of SME’s but because the market for bread products will in crease. Growth in the bakery manufacturing sectors has increased steadily and is expected to continue (estimated at 5% per annum by Euromonitor International in 2015).

Currently a significant proportion of bread production in SEA is based on smaller scale, batch processes, using long fermentation or sponge & dough. In SME’s there is limited if any, process control. Industrial-scale bakeries tend to use similar production methods and practice better process control, there is, however, a trend towards shorter processing methods and the application of dough improvers. In contrast to Europe, typical SEA bread recipes are dominated by high sugar and fat recipe contents (Cauvain and Clark, 2020). Bread quality is described by its volume (the larger the better) and crumb softness (freshness). Other quality traits such as loaf symmetry and crumb structure are important but secondary to bread volume. Breadmaking is based on using high protein flours to yield ‘stable’ doughs, though in some cases, enzymes are used to weaken the dough for processing. Post-mixing processing of the dough is often based on the use of doughbrakes, especially in SME’s.

Australian wheat in South East Asia

The climatic and agricultural conditions in SEA are not conducive for growing wheat and so supplies must be imported for milling and conversion to bread. Key SEA wheat importing countries include Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. Collectively they import 31% of all wheat exported from Australia, valued at over A$ 1.8 billion per annum (pa). Along with Vietnam and Thailand (12.2% of total Australian wheat exports), these key importing countries underpin the Australian wheat industry. SEA is the largest and fastest growing market for Australian wheat, importing 42.6mmt of wheat valued at A$13.1 billion over the past 5 years. The volume of imports has increased from 3.6 mmt in 2008 to 8.5mmt per year, averaged over the 2011-2015 period. Proximity to grain ports, timeliness of shipping, low biosecurity risk, competitive pricing and quality suitability all contribute to this region’s growth in Australian wheat imports (Figure 2).

With a population of 257 million according to the World Bank in 2015, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. The country’s population has grown steadily over the past 30 years with the annual growth rate averaging 1.5% and the total population is expected to increase to 322 million by 2050. The economy has been growing steadily at a rate of 5.5% pa since 2010 The Indonesian economy continues to improve from an average annual income per person of US$ 464 in 1998 to US$ 3,350 in 2015. Indonesia continues to be one of the largest wheat importing nations globally, sourcing nearly all of its 7.4mmt of imported wheat during 2015 from Australia and Canada.

Nippon Indosari is the largest baked goods manufacturer in Indonesia. Apart from bread, biscuit, pastries and cake production combined account for 11% of flour consumption. This segment is dominated by sweet biscuits (84% volume) and further growth is expected. Growth projections are based on an increasing demand for small affordable packs of sweet biscuits sold through traditional venues.

Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre and BakeTran

Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC)

Formed in 2012, AEGIC provides national research leadership and strong international linkages to export markets. AEGIC is a research, development and market intelligence organisation focused on increasing the competitiveness of Australian export grains. Offices and research laboratories are based in Perth and Sydney and are staffed by highly qualified and experienced grain scientists and industry experts. AEGIC administers a diverse range of projects, mainly focusing on Australian key grain markets in Asia. The Innovation Center works across four areas:

+ Market Insights

The experts identify trends and opportunities for the Australian grains industry through market intelligence gathering and in-depth economic analysis

+ Market Engagement

AEGIC regularly assists customers to use Australian grain by conducting overseas seminars and workshops and providing information on the quality, functionality and end-uses of Australian grain

+ Grains Innovation

The grain quality research programs aim to identify new and innovative uses for Australian grains through cuttingedge laboratory research

+ Analytical Services

The Perth and Sydney offices offer commercial grain quality testing and food analysis

BakeTran

Based in the UK, provides independent technical and research services to bakers, flour millers and bakery supply industries worldwide. Formed in 2004, BakeTran has a strong focus on innovation, product and process development. Coming from a research and development background, the founders gained international recognition for developing new ideas and most importantly, providing technical tools and practical solutions for the baking industry. By combining practical experience in milling and baking with a sound understanding of the underpinning science and technology, BakeTran works with many clients to deliver product and process improvements.

AEGIC-BakeTran Collaboration

In 2014 AEGIC and BakeTran began a collaborative project aimed at achieving a greater understanding as to what contributed to the development of dough and could improve process efficiency for the manufacture of bread. With AEGIC’s clear interest in the SEA bread market, the project was run under the heading of Australian Wheat for Asian Baking (AWAB) but from the start it was recognised that the study of dough development through mixing and processing would have wider implications and offer new opportunities for breadmaking throughout the world.

The practice of controlling energy delivery to dough during mixing has been used for some time (Cauvain and Young, 2006). A guiding principle with respect to final bread properties is that around 90% of quality is determined when the dough leaves the mixer and relatively little quality is ’added’ during dough processing (Cauvain, 2015). The behaviour of dough during the processing stages post-mixing and pre-proof is less well understood. While only a small part of bread quality is added during processing, there are many opportunities to ‘subtract’ quality between the mixer and prover. The dough leaving the mixer has elastic behavioural properties which are not best suited to subsequent processing and commonly this results in texture quality losses, not least the formation of unwanted holes in the crumb (BakeTran, 2012). Dough and bread improvers are used in many breadmaking processes which adds to the complexity of the changes which occur during mixing and dough processing. In recent years there has been a move to so-called ‘clean-label’ improvers in which new and very specific enzymes are used to deliver particular dough and bread properties. With the increased use of such ingredients there is a need to study dough development and identify a new set of paradigms which define the complex relationship between involved in bread making.

Thus at the heart of the AWAB project was the need to better understand and quantify the relationship between energy input (total and more importantly, rate of delivery), the rheological properties of dough leaving the mixer and its behaviour during processing to the prover, and the influence of key ingredients. The delivery of consistent bread quality to consumers (however defined) is a key requirement for bakers and consistency is based on good process control. The introduction of new improver formulations requires all bakers to re-consider their current process control methods. Calvel (2001) identified the control of final dough temperature as being critical for the delivery of consistent quality; in this respect, nothing has changed in baking for hundreds of years. Modern dough mixing methods have necessitated an improved understanding between energy input, temperature rise and control of final temperature which adds to the challenges facing bakers operating in warm climatic conditions, such as SEA. The use of ice and cooling jackets on mixers contributes to more consistent dough ex-mixer but adds to the baker’s energy bill (and ultimately to the price of bread).

It was anticipated that outputs from the AWAB project would have practical benefits for:

+ Emerging markets through delivery of the most relevant bread technology for their needs.

+ Bakers through improved process control, and reduced wastage and baking energy.

+ Alternative methods for more efficient and effective processing of dough ex-mixer.

+ Unique opportunities for the manipulation of product cell structure to deliver specific textural characteristics for consumers.

+ Wheat breeders through identification of specific quality traits for different end-uses and markets

+ Flour millers through more effective gristing

Mixing studies in the AWAB project

There have been many studies related to the changes in the rheological properties of dough during mixing. Common evaluation methods involve analysing mixer torque data and identifying a number of long-established quality parameters. However, the methods employed are mostly based on the evaluation of flour-water mixtures and as such, are removed from bakery practices. A fundamental decision within the AWAB project was that all mixing studies would be carried out with a ‘full’ recipe to make the project outputs more immediately relevant to commercial practice. A Perten doughLab was used to mix the doughs and capture relevant data. Preliminary work with a flour-water mixture comparing the effect of mixing speeds is illustrated in Figure 3 and shows how the mixing peak occurred earlier during a fixed mixing cycle. Just as importantly, the data also show that peak height increased as mixing speed increased, confirmation of the importance of changing the rate of energy input during mixing.

In Figure 4 the mixing curves for a flour-water mixture and a full recipe are compared. A clear difference is the loss of peak height and average mixer torque throughout the mixing cycle. In addition, the peak is less distinctly formed and occurs slightly later in the mixing cycle, with the major differences concentrated in the region 50-150 sec. Tests showed that the lubricating effect of the recipe fat was not a major contributor to the lower curve height, though the presence of salt was. The roles of the ascorbic acid and enzymes present in the improver would be considered later in the project. conditions which require significant energy to be used to control dough temperatures to less than 30, let alone 24°C. As discussed by Cauvain (2018), significant energy is required in order to raise dough piece temperatures to that of the prover and the lower the dough temperature entering the prover, the greater the energy input required to deliver a fully-proved dough piece to the oven.

As the AWAB project had a focus on SEA, a standard pan bread recipe was set up to reflect commercial practices in that region. As noted above, the bread recipes contain fat and sugar at much higher than would be common in many parts of the world. The experimental work was based on a no-time dough; that is the dough was taken from the mixer and processed without a deliberate resting period. This method was chosen as being one being in common use around the world and one which was attracting significant interest in SE Asia. The test recipe is given in Table 1.

The cooling jacket fitted to the doughLab mixer facilitates close control of final dough temperature and provides the opportunity to closely examine effects on dough rheology and bread quality. The impact of final dough temperature on some doughLab parameters (full SEA bread recipe) is illustrated in Table 2. As would be expected both peak height and total energy input decreased as dough temperature increased. At higher temperatures the dough was less viscous and therefore offered less resistance to mixing. However, bread volume increased as the dough temperature increased.

While warmer doughs ex-mixer undoubtedly prove to a greater height for a fixed proof time (i.e. more gas production), there is also a contribution to increased volume, in part because of improved oxidation from the ascorbic acid. Oven spring (the difference in height of the dough entering the oven and the height of the loaf leaving it), is the manifestation of gas retention. It occurs in the early stages of baking and once the dough has made the foam-to-sponge conversion, it ceases because internal and external pressures are equal.

Ultimately the processability of bread dough is determined by its rheological character and the choice of processing equipment. Thus, a better understanding of the relationship between dough development in the mixer and rheologyequipment interactions offers more efficient and cost-effective dough processing options for all bakers, not just those operating in warmer climates, such as SEA. +++

References:

BakeTran (2012) Unwanted holes in bread: why they form and how to limit them. Chorleywood Bookshelf Monograph No.1, www.bake-tran.com/ chorleywood-bookshelf/

Calvel, R. (2001) The taste of bread, Aspen, Gaithersburg , MN.

Cauvain, S.P. (2015) Technology of breadmaking 3 rd edn. Springer AG, Cham, Switzerland.

++ Impact of speed/temperature combinations on loaf volume with different flours and the standard level of ascorbic acid and fungal alpha-amylase

Some effects of combining mixing speed and final dough temperature from the AWAB project are illustrated in Figure 5. Five different Australian flour types were used and the pattern of results was similar in all cases. They show that oven spring was markedly affected by the final dough temperature ex-mixer and was greater at higher temperatures. With a dough temperature of 30° C, the effect of mixing speed was limited by comparison with that of dough temperature alone.

The importance of final dough temperature

Conventionally the choice of final dough temperature in a no-time breadmaking process depends on factors such as:

+ The time taken to process the dough from the mixer –warm doughs gas faster and are more difficult to divide and mould.

+ Dough consistency – soft doughs are more difficult to mould.

+ Dough stickiness – sticky doughs can lead to disruptions on the plant.

The bakers’ response to soft and sticky doughs is to reduce recipe water. Many bakeries operate under environmental

Cauvain, S.P. (2018) Improving the processing of dough to bread. In, The future of baking: Science-Technique-Technology , baking+biscuit international year book, f2m food multimedia gmbh, Hamburg, Germany, 36-41.

Cauvain, S.P. and Clark, R.H. (2020) Baking Technology and Nutrition: Towards a healthier world. Wiley, Oxford, UK.

Cauvain, S.P. and Young, L.S. (2006) The Chorleywood Bread Process . Woodhead Publishing Ltd., Cambridge, UK.

Authors: Dr. Larisa Cato and Stanley Cauvain

Stan Cauvain is a Director and co-founder of BakeTran, an international consultancy providing technical services to bakeries, mills, and related ingredient and equipment suppliers. He is particularly active with new process innovation and product development. He has published many technical books and articles on baking and milling technology.

Dr. Larisa Cato is an internationally recognised expert in the field of wheat quality and end-product requirements. As the WHEAT QUALITY TECHNICAL MARKETS MANAGER FOR THE AUSTRALIAN EXPORT GRAINS INNOVATION CENTRE she has been leading the project Australian Wheat for Asian Baking which aims to identify key requirements of wheat quality for bakery products in South East Asia.