By Devane Sharma
Bread is a staple food in various forms around the world that dates back to the origins of agriculture itself. The most basic types of bread are made with flour, water, and yeast which is omitted in unleavened bread. Fat is an optional ingredient in bread, but it can unlock the door to a variety of textures and flavors that can enable countless bread products to suit the tastes of consumers across different markets. The most common bread types are based on refined white wheat, whole wheat, rye, and multi-grains. These serve the basis for the various bread forms we know—loaves, buns, flatbeds, rolls, etc.
Despite being one of the oldest staples around, food producers are constantly looking to create new bread products. Consumers are also demanding healthier varieties of bread that taste good, meet dietary needs like being plant-based or gluten-free, and convenience bread such as frozen doughs that consumers bake at home are filling up more supermarket shelves1.
Fats and Bread Making
Specialty fats are used at different levels in various breads. For white sandwich and multi-grain breads, when fat is used in small amounts, it will help in gluten development and improve bread eating properties. Fat will help to make the bread softer and moist, and enhance shelf life. When fats are used at higher levels in other types of breads, it will prevent excessive gluten development in the dough. This will give a shorter bite, easy melt-in-mouth, which is why fats used in bread making are also known as “shortening”. Additionally, fats serve as a “carrier” of flavors which helps added flavors infuse.
Innovation in Bread Products
Consumers are also demanding a wider variety of bread products. Market research agency Mintel reported that a trend for bread with added vegetables such as carrot, beetroot, or spinach increased in 20192. Such bread products are gaining appeal for their perceived health benefits and vibrance in appearance. For a protein boost, legumes like lentils or chickpeas can be incorporated.
Another potential innovation in bread making is with added fillings. These fillings can be either sweet and savory fillings. Fat is an important component for most types of fillings. For fillings that are co-extruded with dough before baking, fat with added emulsifier can provide the desired bake stability.
Boundless Opportunities
Naturally GMO-free, trans-fat-free, and plant-based, Musim Mas has a wide range of shortenings and emulsifiers to meet your bakery needs with a strong emphasis on quality. This includes the GOLDSHORT® shortening range with different melting points for use in all bread varieties from loaves to pizzas and donuts. GOLDSHORT® offers an excellent substitute for butter, enabling the development of vegan and plant-based bread products.
For the perfect finish, the MASEMUL® emulsifier range helps soften and condition bread, providing volume and shape retention as well as improve bake stability in fillings.
Our R&D innovation and application labs at the Novel IDEAS Center are also geared for partnerships with food producers to create innovative solutions for the modern-day consumer. We work with food producers to improve existing formulations or towards supporting new product development. We strive to be a co-creator in developing successful solutions with our experience on a broad range of applications across the food industry.
Having been part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) since 2004 and the first palm oil major to be verified by the more stringent standards of the Palm Oil Innovation Group in 2019, Musim Mas also prides itself on sustainability. Our GOLDSHORT® and MASEMUL® range is available with the right sustainability certifications for your market.
To find out more about NIC, click here, or email us at fp@icofgroup.com for our specialists to assist you. To find out more about our wide range of specialty fats, click here.
1 https://www.factmr.com/report/bread-market
2 https://www.mintel.com/blog/food-market-news/3-global-bakery-trends-to-look-for-in-2019
