Dough Conditioners and Improvers

DOUGH CONDITIONERS AND
IMPROVERS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
1. Type of Dough conditioners and improvers 3
2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Dough Conditioners and
Improvers
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3. Structural Changes in Dough 7
CONCLUSION 7
REFERENCES 8
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INTRODUCTION
Dough conditioners and improvers are majorly used in bread industry so as to
improve the quality and texture of bread. There are varied range of dough conditioners that
are used in baking breads. The report proposed herewith emphasizes on evaluating different
varieties of dough conditioners and improvers that are utilized by bread industry in today’s
world. The investigation is conducted for following three types of bread conditioners: Yeast
nutrients (ammonium sulphate), Emulsifiers (mono-glycerides and Sodium
StearoylLactylate) and Lecitin (a natural substance). The report emphasizes on identifying
different kinds of dough conditioners with their advantages & disadvantages and structural
changes in dough due to usage of dough conditioners.
1.TYPE OF DOUGH CONDITIONERS AND IMPROVERS
Dough conditioners can be described as elements or a combination of such elements
which are included to leaven wheat and rye the dough being prepared. Thus, adding these
ingredients in the dough shall not only improve the dough process but shall also enhance the
specific characteristics which result into a good dough. Apart from these improvements, it
also enhances the gas formation, volume of the loaf, structure of crumb and the texture which
shall be resulted and such other characteristics which improves the overall dough strength
and quality. In essence these are the bread improvers which include a coherent as well as
balanced combination of ingredients which are used or mixed together in a suitable quantity
to produce bread of good quality (Dough Conditioners, 2017). There are various chemicals
and natural substances available in the market for improving the condition of dough and the
resultant bread loaf. Moreover, these ingredients are either used as a whole or in a
combination of another ingredient. Some of such commercial substances are:
 Oxidising Agents - These agents operate oxidize the element of free sulfhydryl which
are essentially groups of gluten to formulate a disulfide bonds. This in turn creates
protein structure which is cross-linked in nature and due to which a strong gluten
network is evolved with a higher gas retention capacity. Some of the specific
examples of this agent are ascorbic acid, potassium iodate and azodicarbonamide.
 Reducing agents – The agents are comprised of reactive sulfhydryl group which are
capable of impacting the disulfide bonds existing within gluten, to dissociate these
bonds. In consequence to this entire process the formation of protein is more
extensible. These agents are present in the market in the form of cysteine, modified
gluten, denaturated yeast and metabisulphite (Grill, 2009).
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