Bread Improver
Benefits
See Our Full Range of Ingredients
– Improve volume and tolerance of the dough
– Increase softness
– Enhance crust appearance and quality
– Extend bread shelf-life
– Enable reduced salt or sugar solutions
– Increase dough extensibility and relaxation
– Enhance overall quality and eating experience
Watch the Lesaffre UK & Ireland bread improver technology webinar here
Lesaffre’s bread improvers are designed to simplify the work of bakers and enhance the finished products. A tailored blend of reducing agents, oxidants, enzymes and emulsifiers; bread improvers optimise the functional characteristics of bread by significantly changing the way dough acts at each stage of the bread-making process.
Our improvers are developed and tested in actual conditions and everyday usage. Flour quality, manufacturing processes, the equipment used, regulatory requirements and the type of final product are all considered. Our experts are experienced technical bakers and formulators who understand dough structure, flour characteristics, and the production challenges facing bakers every day
VOLUME & TOLERANCE
On first sight of a loaf of bread, consumers assess the shape, colour and volume… And they instinctively associate a nice-looking loaf with a top-quality tasty product. The right choice of formulation is essential for optimising the fermentation process and helping dough to withstand the various mechanical stresses without damage.
Our volume & tolerance improvers
Lesaffre has thorough control over all its active ingredients (enzymes, emulsifiers and oxidants), whether pure, diluted or in formulations. They must be of the highest quality and ideal dosage strength to avoid any negative impact on dough (sticky or elastic texture). They must also be perfectly suited to the flour and baking process, while offering maximum performance and safety.
MACHINABILITY & RELAXATION
An even, nice-looking, well-formed loaf of bread is not only a guarantee of quality in the consumer’s eyes, but also the expertise of all bakers in search of ways to deal with work constraints. Lesaffre has thus developed a wide range of high-tech formulations to optimise the viscoelastic properties of dough and aid the shaping process.
Our machinability & relaxation improvers
Lesaffre has developed several solutions to resolve machinability, extensibility and shaping problems. These include the use of deactivated yeast and L-cysteine, reducing agents that help modify the structure of the gluten network without altering the protein chains. Other solutions coupled with proteases are also developed, particularly for the production of buns and sandwich loaves.
SOFTNESS
Softness, a factor that is often associated with the idea of freshness, is important for consumers in search of soft, creamy results. To make sure that every sandwich loaf or brioche remains soft down to the last slice, Lesaffre has developed a range of high-tech formulations aimed at improving and prolonging the ‘softness’ properties of the loaf’s crumb.
Our softness improvers
In order to avoid drying out and starch retrogradation, several active principles, including enzymes, emulsifiers, hydrocolloids and humectants, can be used individually, but combining them is usually the best solution.
ANTI BLISTERING
Delayed breadmaking techniques alleviate the task for bakers, allowing them to produce crusty bread all day long. However, such processes can result in a defective crust and the appearance of blisters resulting from a lack of dough strength or greater fermentation activity on the loaf’s surface. In order to resolve these issues, Lesaffre has developed a comprehensive range of functional anti-blistering solutions.
Our anti-blistering improvers
Lesaffre was the first to understand the biochemical phenomena responsible for the appearance of blisters. It therefore developed functional solutions combined with an anti-blistering formula to offer results that could be seen at every stage in the breadmaking process: extensibility, volume, freshness, preservation, etc… Several active principles, such as emulsifiers, oxidants and enzymes, can be used individually or together.
ANTI-FLAKING
The flaking crust phenomenon is typical of loaves that have been frozen or deep-frozen. It is what happens when water crystallises on the surface of a loaf with a moist crumb and a drier crust. The area becomes sensitive to knocks and is exacerbated by frequent handling. When the loaf is baked off, it dries out and the crust becomes detached through the pressure of the steam. To resolve the problem, Lesaffre has developed a range of high-tech formulations to guarantee a perfect-looking loaf.
Our anti-flaking improvers
Lesaffre was the first to understand the phenomena responsible for flaking crusts and to propose patented solutions in the form of bread improvers. The use of hydrocolloids and pre-gelatinised flour helps to reduce the amount of free water and the formation of ice microcrystals. The addition of emulsifiers makes the crust sufficiently soft to prevent excessive flaking.
ANTI-MOULD
The appearance of mould affects moist, packaged products in particular, such as sandwich bread, brioche, and pitta bread, thereby minimising their shelf-life and sales potential. To avoid this type of contamination, Pulso has developed a range of high-tech formulations aimed at better controlled production and minimising bacterial and mould growth in bread.
Our anti-mould improvers
Lesaffre formulates bread improvers based on preservatives (bacteriostatic or fungistatic agents), at once optimising their efficiency but reducing their negative organoleptic impact. Backed by its in-depth knowledge of fermentation, Lesaffre also proposes devitalised sourdough, live sourdough or micro-organism cocktails aimed at improving the shelf-life of finished products without altering their taste.
