M.Tech / In South Africa, the gross margins currently achieved on normal pan breads are minimal. For a number of years manufacturers have been trying to improve this situation with added ingredients. Probably one of the simplest of ways to do this is to increase the water absorption, without adversely affecting the quality of the bread such as loaf volume and shelf life. Another means to possibly increase profits is to extend the shelf life on bread. The ultimate would be to supplement the standard formulation with one extra ingredient in order to enhance all aspects. White pan bread was supplemented with three different concentration levels of each lipase, pentosanase, guar gum, к-carrageenan, calcium caseinate and whey. The effects of the different additives were measured against a control. In terms of the water absorption the gums prove to be the best additives, which is mainly due to their ability to function as water binders. К-carrageenan was most excellent at both the medium and high concentration levels, whereas guar gum only performed best at the high concentration level. Both lipase and pentosanase gave good loaf volumes compared to the rest of the additives and the control. The positive effect due to pentosanase could probably be explained by way of two main pathways – oxidative gelation or spiralling effect of the hydrolysis of water in the dough. Lipase is believed to strengthen the gluten and therefore ultimately increases loaf volume. Calcium caseinate was a good anti-staling agent. The mode of action is probably through its water holding ability, though more work is needed since the water absorption results did not correlate. Although к-carrageenan showed increased water absorptions, it also slowed down mould growth tremendously, possibly since the water is in a “bound” form and not available for microbial activity. In the search for one additive to obtain best results for water absorption, loaf volume and shelf life, it seems that к-carrageenan would be the additive of choice.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:8392 |
| Date | 19 May 2009 |
| Creators | September, Cindy |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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