Hydrocolloids and Salt Substitutes In Bakery Product Development

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Hydrocolloids and Salt Substitutes In Bakery Product Development

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Food hydrocolloids (or gums) are high-molecular weight hydrophilic biopolymers used as functional ingredients in the food industry. All polysaccharides taken from plant, seaweed, and microbial sources, as well as gums derived from plant exudates, and modified biopolymers created by chemical treatment of cellulose, are referred to as hydrocolloids.

Hydrocolloids have been widely employed as additives in food technology to adjust the rheology and texture of aqueous suspensions, improve food texture, slow down starch retrogradation, and increase moisture retention, extend the overall quality of the product in time, and as gluten-substitutes in the formulation of gluten-free breads since gums act as polymeric substances mimicking the viscoelastic properties of gluten in bread dough. These polysaccharides are also used in food production as processing aids providing dietary fibers or imparting specific functional properties to products.

Fig.1. the use of selected hydrocolloids and salt substitutes on shelf life of bakery products (ScienceDirect.com)

Bakery products are the most important engineered foods consumed by a large population. In the bakery, additives are used to help with processing, compensate for variances in raw materials, provide consistent quality, and maintain freshness and culinary characteristics. Hydrocolloids are becoming increasingly important as breadmaking improvers in the baking industry. They are widely used in baked goods to enhance dough handling properties, overall quality of fresh products, and to extend shelf-life of stored goods.

Reference:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225887934_Application_of_hydrocolloids_as_baking_improvers

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