While ingredients such as gums and enzymes are designed to maintain the quality of frozen doughs, their effectiveness depends on a variety of factors. The functionality of gums, for example, can vary greatly depending on other ingredients in the dough.

“Gums will compete with other water-soluble ingredients such as sugar, which can affect how well the gums are able to hydrate,” explained Tatiana Mannino, senior food technologist, Ingredion. “In high-sugar formulas such as fruit fillings, we recommend waiting to add all of the dry ingredients until after the gums have hydrated.”

Some gums are also greatly affected by acidic ingredients, such as those in a sourdough bread, she added. 

“We recommend waiting to add acidic ingredients until after the gums have had a chance to hydrate to achieve full functionality,” Mannino said.

Gluten-free and low-carb doughs are more reliant on the addition of other ingredients to achieve their desired structure.

“[These] applications typically need a blend of gums/hydrocolloids to solve a variety of challenges in formulation,” said Jerry Savino, technical services manager, bakery, Kemin Food Technologies.

Mannino echoed this, noting that bakers may have to combine gums to achieve the exact functionality they desire in their baked good application. 

“For example, while xanthan is only capable of thickening on its own, when combined with locust bean gum, a gel is able to form,” she said. “This may be utilized in bakery products to provide both texture and improved freeze-thaw stability.”

Dough size can also have a big impact on which ingredients bakers should opt for, Cam Suarez-Bitar, director of marketing and public relations, Bellarise, pointed out.

“The size of the dough matters because the bakery would need to consider how much pan flow and yield they need from their dough,” he explained. “For example, for a thin pizza, a bakery might need to use a dough conditioner at a low usage rate because of the relatively small dough they would be baking. On the other hand, certain laminated doughs call for dough conditioners that utilize more aggressive enzyme systems, since more extensibility is needed to achieve the intricate and honeycomb-shaped crumb seen in a classic croissant.”

Bakers must also be careful not to add too much or too little of these ingredients. 

“Adding more doesn’t always yield a better solution to the problem you are facing in your product,” Savino said. “Being mindful of usage rates and additional ingredient interactions will be critical to formulating a quality product. Balance is key.”

Chris Bohm, technical director, Corbion, warned that overdosing ingredients will cause rheology issues in the dough during processing.

“An overdose will cause the dough to over-tighten or tail out,” he said. 

Hydrocolloids, for example, are often used at a lower level compared to ingredients such as flours or starches, Mannino noted. 

“While you might see a starch being used at 1% to 3% in a dough, hydrocolloids with a few exceptions are often used under 1%,” she said. “Hydrocolloids also have a maximum level of usage in baked goods according to the FDA.”

Manufacturers must also account for how long their dough will be frozen. 

“For example, if the raw frozen dough is being stored for six to nine months before bake out, it might be useful to use a dough strengthening improver as over time, the freeze/thaw process can cause ice nucleation that can result in loss of gluten strength,” said Sherrill Cropper, scientist, bakery science team, Lesaffre.  

Bakers should have clear shelf life targets in mind when embarking on a frozen dough project, Suarez-Bitar emphasized. Without these targets, it’s more likely an improper amount of dough conditioner is used, leading to wasted resources and undesired results.

“With a proper shelf life target set, commercial and industrial bakeries could simultaneously run multiple tests featuring different usage rates, and thus save precious time while determining the optimum rate of their chosen dough conditioner,” he said.

Bakers should also aim to freeze their doughs as quickly as possible, said Aaron Reed, senior food technologist, Cargill. 

“The longer it takes to get to -10°F, or if your freezer technology doesn’t hit or maintain the right temperature, it can negatively impact product quality,” he observed. “Similarly, logistics have a role to play. It’s important to keep temperatures as consistent as possible throughout shipping and distribution. Consistent temperatures through shelf life help minimize freeze-thaw cycles, resulting in improved finished product quality.”

There are many factors at play affecting the quality of frozen doughs, and it’s unlikely any single ingredient will solve them all. Instead, a holistic approach combining multiple dough conditioners like enzymes, hydrocolloids and/or emulsifiers is often best to achieve desired results. To ensure these ingredient systems function the best they can in frozen doughs, close collaboration with suppliers is recommended, said Becky Regan, principal scientist, sweet goods applications, IFF. 

“For example, IFF’s team of experts have extensive experience in all types of baked products and IFF core ingredients comprising hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, enzymes and other functional ingredients,” she said. “These bakery experts will not only make suggestions of which ingredients or ingredient systems may provide the desired functionality in the specific type of baked product but will also help the baker adjust based on the results from test baking trials.”

Frozen doughs are in hot demand, and with the right ingredient toolbox at their disposal, bakers can ensure these doughs meet the expectations of customers and consumers.

This article is an excerpt from the September 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Texture, click here.