improving dough extensibility with vegetarian

CREATING TOMORROW’S SOLUTIONS
Info sheet I L-cysteine
IMPROVING DOUGH EXTENSIBILITY WITH
VEGETARIAN-GRADE L-CYSTEINE
Dough softeners are mainly added to
increase the extensibility of the wheat gluten, which, for example, is very important
for automated production lines, as it has
a positive effect on machinability. Bread
dough needs a combination of strength,
extensibility and tolerance that depends
mainly on application, flour quality, water
absorption and mixing conditions.
For decades, there was no substitute
for human or animal-derived cysteine.
WACKER offers a vegetarian alternative through fermentation.
Cysteine is obtained primarily from feathers, though it is also commonly extracted
from human hair and from the bristles and
hooves of swine. In Asia, above all in China,
feathers are the raw material of choice.
Until now, a large part of the world’s
demand for cysteine has been met by
boiling these substances with concentrated hydrochloric acid and activated
carbon followed by electrolysis.
In contrast to most other amino acids, a
fermentation-based production method
for cysteine was not available. Outbreaks
of BSE and avian influenza have reinforced
a continuing trend away from animal-based
raw materials, and are fueling increased
consumer interest in the origin of the raw
materials used.
Consequently, WACKER offers a range
of vegetarian-grade L-cystine/L-cysteine
products. Starting from raw materials of
vegetable origin and inorganic trace elements, the products are manufactured by
fermentation.
Thus, the baking industry uses bread
improvers that help optimize dough rheology to maintain a regular crumb, increase
volume and control crust structure.
Such improvers can, for example, contain
emulsifiers, oxidation agents, reducing
agents, carriers, enzymes and other
ingredients.
Figure 1:
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Cys-S-H
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H H
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wheat gluten
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Kneading
L-Cysteine as Dough Softener
In industrial baking, it is very important
that the final product always looks the
same. Buns must have the same size,
baguettes must have the same shape
and, of course, the taste must not vary.
Therefore, bread additives are often used
to improve the dough.
L-Cysteine: Highly Effective in Low
Amounts
WACKER’s L-cysteine can be used as a
dough softener (reducing agent) in baking.
Within wheat dough, L-cysteine reduces
the disulfide bonds to two –SH bonds to
weaken the gluten network and to relax
the dough to a more workable, more
“machinable” substance (see Figure 1).
The softening of the dough can easily be
shown in an extensogram (see Figure 2,
next page).
S
S-Cys
O
H H
S
H
S
H
O
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H H
H H
CREATING TOMORROW’S SOLUTIONS
Functionalities
Bread dough needs a combination of
strength, extensibility and tolerance that
depends mainly on water absorption, flour
quality and mixing conditions. Reducing
agents are used with high-strength flour
and high-speed processes, in particular,
to lower the energy input, reduce mixing
times and improve machinability and loaf
volume. Frozen bread dough is a special
case, where short mixing times are particularly important, because they help
improve yeast stability. Extensibility is also
significant for other yeast and chemically
leavened applications, including cookies,
pizza, tortillas, saltines and other crackers. Reducing agents decrease the
elasticity that can cause these products
to shrink or curl after they are formed.
Cysteine is used in industrial biscuit
production, too, where so called “cracking”
can be reduced. Furthermore – in manufacture of toast, buns and baguettes – the
oven spring can be controlled.
Figure 2:
BE
Figure 2 shows that a small amount of
L-cysteine HCL H2O already has a great
effect on the rheology of the dough – it is
even over 100 times more effective than
inactivated yeast. As the typical dosage
used is much lower (usually 0.5 –5 g/
100 kg) than it would be with inactivated
yeast (100 – 300 g/kg), L-cysteine is much
more cost-effective than other reducing
agents.
1.000
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0
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cm
0-sample
300 ppm inactivated yeast
2 ppm L-cysteine HCl
Benefits of Using WACKER’s
L-Cysteine:
• Dough softening
• Reduced cracking of biscuits and
crackers
• Controlled oven spring
• Homogeneous crumb structure
• Improved machinability
• Reduced stickiness
• Improved pumpability of liquid dough
The data presented in this information sheet are in accordance with the present state of our knowledge but do not absolve the user from carefully checking all supplies immediately
on receipt. We reserve the right to alter product constants within the scope of technical progress or new developments. The recommendations made in this information sheet should
be checked by preliminary trials because of conditions during processing over which we have no control, especially where other companies’ raw materials are also being used. The
information provided by us does not absolve the user from the obligation of investigating the possibility of infringement of third parties’ rights and, if necessary, clarifying the position.
Recommendations for use do not constitute a warranty, either express or implied, of the fitness or suitability of the product for a particular purpose.
6882e/03.12
Wacker Chemie AG., Tel. +49 89 6279-1346, Fax: +49 89 6279-2507,
info.biosolutions@wacker.com