Minimize retrogradation in bread.

Retrogradation is a physical and chemical phenomenon that affects the durability of bakery products, generating loss of profitability and waste (garbage), which has made the human being focus for many decades on its solution.

Starting from the knowledge that retrogradation is due to the rearrangement of the amylose and amylopectin present in bakery products due to the effect of moisture loss, there are basic strategies to achieve its minimization.

Formulation

From the selection of flours with low amylose content, through the incorporation of physical barriers to retrogradation (emulsifiers), the use of sourdoughs and the development of specific enzymes (normally in the form of enzyme complexes), they have been used as tools to mitigate, delay or minimize the impact of migration or loss of moisture from the crumb to the crust, and thus achieve a longer-lasting softness and palatability of the bread. The introduction of soy flour in bread formulations has been shown to significantly improve retrogradation retardation, in conjunction with high-iodine emulsifiers and/or specific long-chain fatty acids.

Process

Precooked and frozen bread is one of the most used strategies today to minimize losses due to the phenomenon of retrogradation, however it implies a substantial increase in the cost of the production processes and frozen storage from the factory to the sales places. Additionally, there is an additional expense in terms of packaging material and its recyclability condition, since either they invest a lot of material (weight per square centimeter), or they use laminates that classify it as a type 7 material, which limits its recyclability or further use. If you think about it, this is not a friendly strategy since it has a higher energy cost.

Seeing the production of breads made with sourdough (active sourdough and a fermentation process long enough to achieve important changes due to the effect of fermentation of sugars and the digestion of a higher percentage of amylose), it becomes a friendlier process, but that requires the investment of time which must be considered in the operational dynamics of the companies or bakeries. It also implies sensory changes (texture and flavor), which must be evaluated for final consumers.

Although the incorporation of pregelatinized starches is not a new strategy, since there are cultures that have been doing it for centuries (Japanese), the incorporation of a percentage of between 10 and 40% of previously gelatinized modified starches improves substantially depending on their ability to retain a higher proportion of moisture.

Packaging

The optimization of the packaging process in terms of the right time to carry it out, as well as guaranteeing the use of materials with a good barrier to the exchange of oxygen and water vapor, is one of the strategies that has had the greatest impact in delaying or minimizing the loss of moisture in the crumb by its migration to the outside. Likewise, environmental awareness must prevail in the selection process, and today there are several environmentally friendly alternatives.

It is important to note that it is not only by using an isolated strategy from the one mentioned above, it is how a long useful life will be achieved from the functional and sensory point of view, to achieve this, comprehensive evaluations must be carried out starting from the formula of the product to be elaborated, manufacturing processes oriented to this end, as well as a process of packaging, storage and handling on the customers' shelves, seeing in an integral way that the final objective is fulfilled, improving the commercial duration of our products.