EP54: Getting a Rise with Chemical Leavening Pt. 2

BAKED in Science

Take a deeper dive into chemical leavening in part two of our look into the systems help so many baked goods produce the final perfect texture and structure. Chemical leavening systems are essential to a number of baked goods. Blends, like baking powders, are typically made up of a food-grade base, a leavening acid, and an inert filler like starch. They must be blended at just the right ratio into your formula for success. In this episode your podcast host Mark Floerke explores the impact these systems have on the development of products. He is joined by Dr. Sharon Book, a bakery technologist for ICL Food Specialties. After obtaining her MS and PhD degrees focusing on cereal starch and proteins, she went on to work for Monsanto investigating how to make bread without yeast, resulting in a patent. Now with ICL, a company that manufactures a portfolio of leavening acids, her work focuses on researching chemical leavening and baked goods. Mark and Sharon’s conversation starts with phosphates and leavening acids—ingredients that often aren’t fully understood. Impacting things such as crust color or cookie spread, their reactions are far more complex than simply making cake rise. A few topics discussed include: - Rising bread without yeast - Gluten-free products - Using yeast in combination with chemical leavening - The meaning behind SAPP values - Troubleshooting and formulating - Tortillas, cakes, doughnuts and more When working with chemical leavening systems it’s important to understand just what the final volume will be and how much gas will be produced. Specific blends for specific applications can help get just the reaction you’re looking for. To learn more about ICL Food Specialties and how they can create unique phosphate solutions to formulate around texture challenges, visit https://www.iclfood.com/bakery/