Effect of enzymes on material properties of dough

Company, Place, Country: DSM Biotechnology Center, Delft, the Netherlands

Contact person: Arjen Sein, Eva Merel-Rausch

Duration: 8 months

Introduction:

DSM Food Specialties is a leading player in the field of food enzymes. Enzymes are for instance applied in the bakery area, where they have a wide range of effects on bakery products (both bread and fine bakery) and the processes leading to these. Several enzymes influence the mechanical behaviour of bread dough during kneading and proofing. We wish to gain more insight in what these effects are on the material properties of the dough.
The work is part of ongoing research.

Background:

Bread dough has been studied by rheology very extensively, yet many of these studies do not take into account the role of enzymes. For those studies that did take enzymes into account, these were not the enzymes we would like to see and not in a proper set up that approaches the situation in a real bakery environment. Further, some tests were executed using DSM enzymes on our behalf, but we wish to have these techniques available in house.

Rationale:

A new Farinograph (controlled small scale kneading unit that measures torque) is bought. Dough prototypes made in this machine will be further tested by rheometry. For both holds that a set of common enzymes will be used that impact on the material properties of dough (for instance hemicellulases, proteases). The first part of the work is method development; the second part is about coming with a microstructural picture of the role of certain enzymes in dough, based on insights from enzymology as well as colloid-, polymer- and physical chemistry and material science.

Approach:

Testing several enzymes in a standard dough composition in the Farinograph and using these doughs in the rheometer. Execute tests to understand what most discriminative tests are, and determine statistical relevance of the methods. Once methods are set, some of the common enzymological variants will be applied to assess their impact on mechanical properties, such as dose response, enzyme variants, multiple enzymes. Other variants possibly tested: changes in dough compositions or processing parameters.

The outcome of the study could be confidential and may therefore not be communicated freely outside DSM.

More information: Arjen.sein@dsm.com