Volume and Tolerance

Functionalities

A well-risen, evenly shaped loaf signals high quality

Whether it's baguettes, crusty loaves, sandwich bread, or brioche, consumers judge bread products based on different criteria and one of the main ones is its volume. Volume, along with shape and color, plays a crucial role in a bread’s appearance and is one of the first things that attract consumers immediately.

Characteristics

Two major technical factors are responsible for obtaining volume in bakery goods: efficient CO₂ production and a gluten network strong enough to retain the gases. However, there are other factors, aside from these pre-requisites, that warrant further development in breadmaking: a higher tolerance to excess fermentation and the dough’s capacity to resist the various stresses inherent in processes such as controlled proofing and freezing.

CO₂ Production

Effective sourdough or yeast fermentation uses sugars in the dough to produce CO₂ gas, which is crucial for the bread’s rise.
Gas Retention

The dough must retain CO₂ during both fermentation and baking, allowing the gases to expand with heat.
Mechanical Resilience

The dough should withstand mechanical processes like dividing, shaping, and scoring without compromising its volume.

Challenges

Optimizing Fermentation for Better Volume and Tolerance

1

Strengthen dough cohesion

Flour naturally contains amylases, enzymes that break down starch into fermentable sugars
2

Precise dosage

Selecting the right enzymes in precise amounts is essential to prevent any negative effects (sticky, elastic dough) and to adapt perfectly to the flour quality and the baker’s process

Solutions

At Baking with Lesaffre, we develop formulated products such as improvers, pre-mixes, or blends that offer the maximum guarantee for an optimal volume and tolerance of your bread products.