Baking emulsifiers: where, when, and why? IMPAG Schweiz

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Valentino Levak

Sales & Product Manager

IMPAG AG

Fluctuating raw material qualities, difficult processes, and increasing consumer expectations for greater volume, longer shelf life, and softer crumb are all major challenges that baked goods manufacturers are facing. Doughs are kept standing over long times, and doughs and breads are often chilled or even frozen and thawed.

Bread and rolls: lasting freshness, robust dough, and soft crumb

Emulsifiers are important functional tools that help to meet these challenges. They are used not only to optimize the properties of baked goods, but also to improve process stability and help keep the product quality consistent.

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A stable dough matrix is fundamental for a satisfactory end product. Emulsifiers are surface-active substances that consist of a hydrophilic part and a lipophilic part. This allows them to stabilize the mixture of polar and non-polar substances, which in baked goods are typically the gas, fat, and water produced by yeast or sourdough starter. However, emulsifiers are not limited to this effect and the modes of action and applications of baking emulsifiers are extremely diverse. Below we briefly present the most common supergroups and their applications:

Mono- and diglycerides (E 471) – the gentle ones

While grouped together, monoglycerides and diglycerides of fatty acids consist mostly of monoglycerides. They react primarily with the starch fraction in the dough and, thanks to the formation of amylose–lipid complexes, they lead to:

Soft and elastic crumb
Very slow starch degradation; baked goods undergo slower water loss and stay soft and fresh for longer

Application: Toast, white bread, pastries, and other baked goods that benefit from prolonged freshness and soft crumb. Also ideal for loosening dark breads with a high wholemeal content. Particularly suitable for chilled baked goods.

Comparison of crumb softness between breads with and without mono- and diglycerides

DATEM (E 472e) – the strong ones

Unlike mono- and diglycerides, DATEM strengthen and stabilize the gluten network in particular. This offers the following advantages:

More robust doughs with higher proofing tolerance; doughs remain stable even over unexpectedly long standing times
Better gas retention, leading to airy breads with a fine and more consistent crumb
Greater resistance to mechanical stress, reducing the risk of over-kneading

Application: Baked yeast or sourdough goods made over long standing times, in difficult processes, or as highly compact, heavy breads

Volume comparison of rolls with and without DATEM (1 = Control, 2 = DATEM A, 3 = DATEM B; left = 45 min standing time, right = 55 min standing time)

SSL (E 481) – the all-rounders

SSL are true all-rounders, but make small compromises in terms of efficiency. SSL are also subject to a legal restriction on maximum quantity. However, these emulsifiers stabilize both starch and the gluten network and thus combine the advantages of mono- & diglycerides with those of DATEMs:

Better freshness retention
Soft and elastic crumb
Strong gluten network with greater fermentation tolerance and resilience

Application: Soft baked goods with high volume, long shelf life, and high process stability in industrial processes

Fine baked goods: airiness and stability for delicate batters

Fine baked goods such as sponge, pound or Madeira cake are based on whipped batters, which are particularly sensitive. Long process times, fluctuating temperatures, and mechanical stresses caused by mixing and pumping all have a negative impact on the baking result. Again, in these products, emulsifiers can be used to increase the stability of the dough, for a soft and elastic crumb and longer freshness. A more homogeneous crumb structure and greater airiness are also extremely important for fine baked goods.

In fine baked goods with low fat and sugar content, it can be enough to use simple mono- and diglycerides (E 471). For higher fat and sugar content and more sophisticated recipes, on the other hand, we recommend activated emulsifier systems.

Activated emulsifier systems – the specialists

Emulsifier systems are developed and formulated for specific applications. For maximum effect, these systems usually consist of 2–3 emulsifiers, glucose syrup as a carrier, and 1–2 other functional ingredients such as milk protein or skimmed milk powder. For production, the ingredients are mixed, activated, and then spray-dried. This offers various advantages:

The emulsifiers are highly surface-active immediately after adding, and stabilize air bubbles in whipped doughs or batters faster, more effectively, and more efficiently
Ideal even for recipes with high fat content, preventing fat from curdling and separating out
Convenience: activated emulsifiers are easier to mix in and do not need to be hydrated or heated, thus enabling shorter processing times
Combined advantages of the individual emulsifiers such as softer, more elastic and more uniform crumb, longer lasting freshness, greater volume, and higher resilience of the doughs/batters

Application: Sponge cakes, Madeira cakes, other airy whipped goods, and all-in-one ready-mixes for household and industrial use

Comparison of the size and colour of cakes with an activated emulsifier system and with mono- & diglycerides (left = emulsifier system of LACTEM (E 472b) and ACETEM (E 472a); right = mono- & diglycerides from fatty acids (E 471))

But you can do without them, too, right? – a quick summary

Yes, but at the expense of recipe repeatability, dough volume, shelf life, and a nice soft and uniform crumb. Without activated systems, greater caution needs to be taken while mixing and when selecting raw materials. Separate whipping of the batter could be necessary, which is often too error-prone and time-consuming in an industrial context.

High airiness and soft crumb are especially important quality characteristics for breads and rolls. Light-coloured flours with high gluten levels are typically used to achieve them, but they age more quickly. Yet, the bread is expected to taste fresh from the oven when it is eaten, even if it was bought just before closing time. Processing the dough for longer and using darker flours can help in some cases, but this changes the product characteristics and poses challenges for industrial manufacturers due to the long processing times. Weak and generally fluctuating gluten qualities can also lead to a decrease in bread volumes if left over long standing times. Emulsifiers ensure successful baked goods that meet even the highest quality standards.

Around 100 million kilograms of bread and other baked goods are thrown away every year in Switzerland alone (in German).

That is about 26% of the amount the country produces. Most of it is from unsold products. What would happen if the shelf life of these products was extended? To reduce food waste, baked goods are often frozen and rebaked. Emulsifiers offer considerable advantages for product quality especially in rebaked breads. Of course, we also offer palm-free emulsifiers.

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