Gluten enhancer could upgrade low protein flour
The new blend, called EMCE Gluten Plus, modifies the gluten network through promoting cross-linking of proteins, said the German flour specialist
And the company said that the new gluten enhancer at a recommended dosage of only 400 – 3,000 ppm can replace 50 per cent and more of added gluten while boosting the vital wheat gluten function.
Furthermore, stressed Mühlenchemie, EMCE Gluten Plus, which is supplied to bakers globally in powder form, improves the rheological and baking properties of flour, does not interfere with standard flour treatment or bread improvers and saves 40 per cent on the price of added wheat gluten.
The enhancer, it said, can thus prove cost effective for a baker when employing cheaper raw materials such as lower quality flour in the case of rocketing prices for higher protein varieties. Flour quality – such as levels of protein and lipids – can vary on a number of factors such as heavy rain around harvest time causing wheat to sprout or mildew, and drought too can have an impact.
Dr Lutz Popper, head of R&D at the German firm, told BakeryandSnacks.com that the supplier, as part of a 12 month trial period, combined protein sources derived from lentils, peas and beans with oxidases, with the goal of ensuring cross-linkage of the proteins to tweak the flour’s own gluten network.
And he said the R&D team successfully demonstrated that this combination promoted an interaction with gluten’s water soluble and non-soluble proteins to improve the rheological properties of wheat flour.
"Gluten is mostly composed of water insoluble proteins, because the soluble proteins are essentially removed with the bran during the milling process. This is why the protein composition of wheat flour differs from the protein composition of wheat, which was a starting point for our development of EMCE Gluten Plus.
But instead of re-adding the soluble proteins, we finally chose legume proteins which showed the best interaction during tests with proteins from various sources," said Popper.
He explained that previous research on combining vegetable sources of protein with enzymes has relied on soybean, but this has resulted in flour with a disappointing taste and flavour profile. Whereas, the use of lentil and bean proteins, said the head of R&D, does not have any negative impact on the sensory attributes of flour.
And Popper said that feedback from pre-launch trials with bread roll manufacturers in Germany and Latin America and with baguette producers in France have shown the efficacy of EMCE Gluten Plus on the industrial scale, with their results showing that excellent baking results can be obtained with lower amounts of added gluten.
