Baking Enzyme Series 2: Protease
Protease hydrolyzes protein into small peptides and amino acids and therefor makes high protein dough more extensible and flowable, leading to a softer, more tender crumb and better bread volume
1 min read
An emerging secret ingredient for high protein baking
High protein baking is gaining popularity as consumers seek protein-rich alternatives to traditional baked goods. Protein powder or high-protein flour are frequently used ingredients in these recipes. However, this trend comes with its own set of challenges.
One of the primary challenges in high-protein baking is maintaining the texture and structural integrity of the baked goods. High protein content can make baked goods dense, tough, or chewy, and therefore makes formulation very challenging, especially for beginners.
Google search or ChatGTP offers little help in solving the problem for industrial baking. Let’s start with fundamental chemistry. Glute is the main protein found in grains like wheat, barley and rye. It has an isoelectric point (PI)around 5.1, meaning at pH around 5.1 gluten has no net charges and therefore is most stable and absorbs least water. Other plant-based proteins like rice and pea have similar PIs. Since most baked goods have pH near this range, high protein products become dense and tough because they form a strong protein network with little moisture inside, not because they absorb more liquid as suggested by some AI.
To improve protein’s moisture retention capacity, either significant pH increase or decrease is needed, and apparently, this approach is not suitable for most baked goods (actually a surprising benefit of sourdough bread that is not widely realized). As you may recall from previous episode about bakery enzyme, amylase is used to break down starch to fermentable sugar, another important enzyme for bakery, protease has the capability to hydrolyze protein into small peptides and amino acids. By breaking down protein, proteases make high protein dough more extensible and flowable, leading to a softer, more tender crumb and better bread volume. In addition, proteases can reduce dough mixing time for faster production.
For consumer's benefit, using protease enhances protein digestibility in baked goods, enabling better absorption and utilization by the body.
Proteases can be classified as acidic, neutral, or alkaline based on their optimal pH activity.
