Bakers looking to protect frozen dough quality can get a lift from many functional ingredients in their texture toolbox. 

The addition of anti-staling enzymes, for example, boosts the shelf life and textural quality of products baked after frozen storage, said Sherrill Cropper, scientist, bakery science team, Lesaffre.

“These anti-staling improvers and enzyme blends can help to maintain the softness and resilience of the baked product by helping to prevent staling that typically can occur shortly after the bake out,” Cropper said.

Enzymes also allow bakers to achieve a clean label, replacing emulsifiers like SSL or DATEM that are used to improve texture but increasingly carry label concerns. 

“When it comes to frozen doughs, bakeries that go clean label, replace DATEM, switch out mono- and diglycerides, and choose non-GMO solutions can make a big impact with bread lovers in North America,” explained Cam Suarez-Bitar, director of marketing and public relations, Bellarise. “Synthetic ingredients are being phased out, so it is essential that bakeries explore the potential of all-natural, clean label enzyme-based solutions and work with ingredient suppliers that can walk them through all the testing needed to bring out the best in their frozen doughs while keeping costs under control.”

Lesaffre’s SafPro dough improver line is designed for frozen and parbaked applications.

“Thanks to new innovations with enzymes and skilled formulations, clean label ingredients like the SafPro options are available to help improve the quality of many frozen dough bakery applications,” Cropper said.

Phosphates can also play several key roles in frozen dough applications, noted said Amr Shaheed, technical services & applications development manager, Innophos, including dough strengthening, improved moisture retention, pH level control, inhibition of staling, enhanced yeast activity, improved texture and freeze-thaw stability. 

“By leveraging the benefits of phosphates, bakers can enhance the quality, consistency and shelf life of their frozen and refrigerated dough products, ensuring superior performance and customer satisfaction,” he said.

Luc Casavant, director of bakery applications for Lallemand, suggested other ingredients such as vital wheat gluten or high protein flour can help dough better resist freezer damage and improve volume and final product texture. Other newer ingredients are emerging in frozen dough applications as well. 

“Some other novel ingredients have been studied like anti-freeze proteins or ice structuring proteins,” Casavant said. “The freezable water content can be lowered in frozen dough, or the gluten matrix can be protected from the damaging effect of ice crystals.”

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