While reductions of eggs and dairy in a formulation can be accomplished fairly easily, producers must account for the functionality they’re losing and how it may impact their baked goods. Failing to do so can result in a lower quality finished product that consumers won’t accept or product waste and rework that drives up costs. 

“The main challenge is that the functional roles of egg and dairy ingredients are broad and specific to different types of baked products,” said Becky Regan, principal scientist, IFF. “It is not possible to replace these eggs and dairy ingredients with another single ingredient. In general, it will take three to five ingredients to replace the various functional roles they provide.”

Nelson Serrano-Bahri, chef and director of development of the American Egg Board, noted no other ingredient or ingredient system will fully replace the functionality and clean label appeal of eggs. This makes reductions particularly challenging in products where eggs are critical to flavor and texture, like meringues, soufflés and custards.

“However, reductions are easier in recipes where eggs primarily serve as a binder or for moisture, such as in muffins or pancakes,” he said. “In these cases, careful formulation adjustments can allow for a slight reduction in egg content without significantly impacting the final product.”

J&K Ingredients Vita-ex egg replacer can partially replace eggs in applications including bread, rolls, cakes, muffins, pastries and other sweet goods, reducing costs by 20% to 30%, said Daniel Marciani, director of R&D, and Michael Chancafe, senior bakery applications scientist, J&K ingredients. The company also offers clean label egg replacers under the Vita-Ex line. 

“J&K has achieved full egg replacement like brioche rolls where 100% of the whole egg used at 4% of the total weight was replaced with 1% Vita-Ex and 3% water in the formulation while maintaining the comparative taste, texture and tenderness of the brioche rolls and lowering total costs,” Marciani and Chancafe said.

 Even if the lost functionality is accounted for, however, no replacement will be a perfect match.

“If you reduced the butter in a pie crust formula, it would have both flavor and texture impacts on the finished bakery product even if you replaced it with a vegetable shortening,” said KJ Burrington, vice president of technical development, American Dairy Products Institute. “Cost reductions are always possible, but it is important to be mindful of reformulations because loyal consumers will know your product and notice changes that impact their characteristics.”

To avoid upsetting these loyal consumers, Burrington recommended working with suppliers on ingredient selection to ensure changes to the final product are minimal. 

Even if not reducing egg or dairy content in a product, bakers should be on the lookout for any formulation challenges these ingredients may cause. 

“Some formulation challenges can arise from interactions between egg and dairy and other ingredients in products,” said Ashley Beech, bakery applications development manager, Corbion. “Some enzymes may react with components in egg and dairy to create off-flavors. In addition, egg and dairy also can undergo oxidative rancidity. Conducting full sensory and oxidative stability testing of the product over shelf life is encouraged.”

Other challenges when using egg ingredients include over-aeration of the product, Serrano-Bahri said. 

“Overmixing can lead to too much air incorporation, causing products to collapse. Bakers should monitor mixing times and speeds carefully,” he said. 

Moisture imbalance can also occur in the product.

“Especially when using egg powders, improper hydration can lead to dry or crumbly textures,” he said. “Bakers should ensure proper rehydration techniques.”

He added that using pre-portioned ingredients can improve product consistency and avoid issues caused by variations in egg concentration, especially in liquid eggs. 

On the dairy side, ingredients high in lactose can result in a product over-browning, noted Rachel Marshall, technical engagement manager, Atlantic Region, Fonterra.

“This can be managed with selection of lower sugar/lactose ingredients,” she said.

Bakers also run into trouble when formulating high-protein products, which often have a viscous dough or a drier, more crumbly final texture, Marshall said. To overcome this, a variety of dairy proteins can help achieve a desired final product while reducing egg and dairy content and ingredient costs.

“Select ingredients by considering if you need structural proteins that gel or set on heating, or build viscosity in a dough or batter, or if you need filler proteins that bring protein’s desired nutrition with minimal impact on texture, or if you need proteins with water absorption characteristics,” she said. 

Fonterra whey protein concentrates (WPCs) act as a filler and bulking agent in higher protein applications while reducing dough and batter thickness and finished product dryness.

“Milk protein concentrates can help to soften the finished good as part of a protein blend,” she explained. “Regular WPC can be used as a (partial) whole egg replacer, depending on the type of baked good.”

By optimizing dairy and egg ingredients for their operations, bakers can extend their use and find critical cost savings.

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