Flour treatment agents
Flour treatment agents are food additives that are added to flour in the grain mill in order to improve the baking properties ( baking agents, on the other hand, are only added in the bakery or in bread factories). They are usually a combination of the food additives listed below . The use of flour treatment or baking agents mainly depends on the product to be manufactured.
The baking properties of wheat flours are largely determined by the content or ratio of thiol to disulfide groups in the proteins . The stability of a dough is strongly influenced by the disulfide exchange between low molecular weight peptides with SH groups and the gluten .
Flour treatment agents must be labeled with a preceding class name. In addition, like all additives, they must be approved.
In the EU for flour treatment are approved agents
- Ascorbic acid (E 300),
- Sodium L-ascorbate (E 301),
- Calcium L-ascorbate (E 302),
- Lecithin (E 322),
- Guar gum (E 412),
- Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E 471),
- Lactic acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids ( E 472b ),
- Vinegar-tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids ( diacetyltartaric acid glycerides , E 472e),
- Sugar esters of fatty acids (E 473),
- Sugar glycerides ( E 474 ),
- Sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate (E 481),
- Calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate (E 482),
- Stearyl tartrate (E 483) and
- L- cysteine (E 920).
The most important flour treatment agent is ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The addition of small amounts (usually 1–3 g per 100 kg of flour) increases the volume of the baked goods by increasing the resistance to stretching and fermentation stability as well as reducing the elasticity of the dough.