Better Ingredients, Better Bread, Better Shelf Life!
Are you on the quest to extend your bread’s shelf life? Achieve that ideal softness and chewiness, while ensuring freshness and preventing mold can sometimes feel like a tall order for wholesale & industrial bakers. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, it’s always a good idea to start by taking a closer look at your ingredients! Let’s deep dive into the world of bread ingredients and explore how to improve the shelf life of bread.
Improving the shelf life of bread while maintaining its desired texture and flavor is indeed a complex task that requires careful consideration of various ingredients and their interactions. Let’s break down some key points from the provided text and discuss them further:
Shortening and Enzymes: Shortening, or fats, can contribute to the softness of bread by disrupting the network structure, resulting in a softer texture. Enzymes also play a crucial role in softness and maintaining the desired crumb texture over time. It’s essential to select the right types and amounts of shortening and enzymes for your bread formulations to achieve the desired softness and mouthfeel.
Quality Flour and Vital Wheat Gluten: High-quality bread flour combined with vital wheat gluten can enhance the chewiness of bread, providing a satisfying texture. Ensuring the quality of these ingredients and their proper interaction is key to achieving the desired result.
Mold Prevention with Fiber: Adding fiber to bread can help prevent mold growth by reducing water activity within the bread. However, the addition of fiber may also alter dough rheology, leading to challenges in dough handling and texture. Careful consideration of formulation adjustments and potential alternatives is necessary to maintain the desired bread quality while extending shelf life.
Alternatives to Mold Inhibitors: Instead of relying solely on mold inhibitors like calcium propionate, exploring alternatives such as cultured wheat, raisin concentrate, or encapsulated sorbic acid can offer effective mold prevention while maintaining a cleaner label. Additionally, emphasizing good sanitation practices can contribute to product shelf life and overall quality.
Technical Expertise and Nuanced Understanding: Achieving the perfect balance of softness, chewiness, and mold prevention requires a deep understanding of ingredient functionality and their interactions. Bakers need to continually refine their formulations and practices to produce bread that meets both quality and shelf life expectations.
By focusing on ingredient quality, formulation adjustments, and technical expertise, bakers can create bread that not only tastes great but also maintains its freshness and quality over time.
Thymly Products works with customers to create the best ingredient solutions for their baking needs. This has been the core of our business for many years. If you are interested in learning more please reach out to your sales representative or call 410-658-4820. We would be happy to talk with you.
