Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 for different types of gingerbread

Transcription

1 Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 for different types of gingerbread 1

2 Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 for different types of gingerbread Having its origin in a religious background, the German word Lebkuchen derives from the Latin word libum which means something like sacrificial cake but also describes just a flat cake. Already in the 13 th century German cloisters documented the preparation of gingerbreads followed by free imperial cities and Hanseatic cities. Those have become famous beyond the city limits known as Nürnberger Lebkuchen or Aachener Printen. In Germany gingerbreads are particularly popular during advent and Christmas season. Many producers already start the production in May or June to cover the needs. To fulfil and even surpass all consumer expectations, those products still have to possess the familiar sensory properties in winter when the season begins. Especially important characteristics are haptical properties and juiciness. Depending on the type of gingerbread, the moisture content is 8 17% and the a w -value Therefore they are seen as long-life bakery products. Here, the high amount of sweetening ingredients such as fruit sweeteners or honey has a very important role. Due to their hygroscopic properties the gingerbreads will absorb and bind water during conditioning (for gingerbreads without wafer) or storage. This guarantees a soft texture over a long time. Combining the characteristic features of sugars with fruit fibres those can help to optimise the consistency and texture of gingerbreads. The apple fibre Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 is a fine grained, nearly sugar free apple fibre with good water binding capacity. The additional water filling for dough should be 3 4 times the amount of Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100. By using this fibre, advantages can be achieved in different types of gingerbread. Another option to support the fresh keeping effect in gingerbread is the apple extract Herbarom TM. It is a colouring foodstuff still containing the single sugars as well as sorbitol originating from the apple. Those will keep moisture in the product and therefore lead to improved fresh keeping while also giving a fresh and slightly fruity taste. Besides, its dark brown colour will intensify the colouring of gingerbread. Gingerbread Classic gingerbreads are usually produced in two steps whereas the main ingredients are flour and honey (or other sweeteners such as the apple sweetener Herbasweet TM ). In the first step a storage dough is produced. It is stored chilled for days up to several months. During that time acids and flavours are produced by microbiological fermentation of sugar. Due to those acids amongst others lactic acid potash (potassium carbonate) or sodium bicarbonate can be used, as they will only work in acidic media. In the second step leavening agents and spices are added to the storage dough, leading to the so called. Small gingerbreads are formed out of this dough. These are baked and afterwards conditioned to the desired moisture content and finally packed. 2

3 Trials prove that, depending on the time of addition (see table 1 and 2), using the apple fibre Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 has a big influence on both product height as well as duration of conditioning. To gain further knowledge, four different variations were compared: 1. standard recipe (reference) 2. gingerbread with Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 added to the storage dough with adjusted water filling 3. gingerbread with Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 added to the with adjusted water filling 4. gingerbread with Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 added to the without adjusted water filling Table 1: Recipe for storage dough (72 hours of storage) version storage dough 1 storage dough 2 ingredients g g wheat flour water for preparation of sugar syrup sugar Herbasweet TM AS lactic acid 6 6 Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/ water - 60 total Table 2: Recipe for (baked for 10 minutes at 190 C) version ingredients g g g g storage dough storage dough oil/fat ammonium carbonate potash spices water Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/ total

4 After baking for 10 minutes at 190 C, the gingerbreads were conditioned to a final moisture content of 15%. Figure 1 shows the influence of manu- facturing on the length of conditioning. The reference sample was produced without Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/ conditioning time [h] reference storage dough Plus AF in TM TM TM Figure 1: Length of conditioning of gingerbreads up to 15% moisture, depending on time of addition of Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 One can see that adding apple fibre and water to the storage dough leads to a significant reduction of conditioning time. Compared to the reference a reduction of 30% (from 20 hours to 14 hours) could be achieved. This allows increasing the production capacity leading to cost reduction. Even adding Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 to the main dough while increasing the water filling still leads to a time saving of 17%. Adding Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 to the storage dough seems to be the most promising method. This dough showed reduced stickiness and therefore the best processability. Besides, these gingerbreads had the biggest product height (figure 2), best leavening and shortest conditioning time. To guarantee defined conditions and receive comparable product heights before baking, a mechanical biscuit mould was used. 4

5 18 17 product height [mm] reference storage dough Plus AF in TM TM TM Figure 2: Product height of gingerbreads depending on addition of Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 in either storage or By adding Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 to the storage dough the product height can be increased by 35% (figure 2) compared to a reference sample (from 12.5mm 17mm). This means that for maintaining form and height of a product, the pastry yield is increased (units per batch). Reduction of the conditioning time and an increased yield are two important aspects for using Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 in gingerbreads. Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 in gingerbreads: reduction of lenght of conditioning improvement of crumb structure improvement of product height Gingerbreads on wafers The dough for gingerbreads on wafers consists unlike that of other types of gingerbreads, mainly of sugar, grinded almonds, nuts or seeds and egg, which acts as emulsifier and gives consistency. Compared to other gingerbreads the amount of flour is quite small and is seen as a quality creterion. The smaller the amount of flour, the higher the quality. Unlike other gingerbreads, those on wafers are neither produced using a storage dough nor conditioned after baking. Instead the dough will be spread on wafers and baked after a short time of surface drying. Afterwards it can be coated with products such as chocolate or sugar icing. reduction of stickiness of the dough improvement of fresh keeping improvement of product colour 5

6 Table 3: Recipes for gingerbread on wafers (baked for 15 minutes at 190 C top and 175 C bottom heat) Reference with Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 ingredients g g wheat flour sugar whole egg almonds/nuts candied orange/lemon peels spices 4 4 ammonium carbonate 2,5 2,5 potash 1 1 water Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100-7,5 total 727,5 765 It could be shown that already 1% Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 in the dough (table 3) together with an increased water filling will lead to a juicier product even after several weeks of storage. Processability and usability of these doughs is comparable to the reference dough without Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100. This means that no adjustments in machinery have to be taken into account when producing with Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100. Eating impression is pleasant and less sticky compared to products containing guar gum which is often used nowadays. Furthermore, the brownish colour of the apple fibre supports perfectly the typical gingerbread colour. Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 in gingerbreads on wafers: improvement of moisture content pleasant eating properties Conclusion One can conclude that using Herbacel TM Classic Plus AF 60/100 in different types of gingerbread has not only sensory but also technological and economic advantages. It will furthermore improve the fresh keeping and reduce the stickiness of the dough which leads to better processability. Besides, the output can be increased by reducing the needed time for conditioning. If you have any further questions we are happy to help and support you. Herbafood Ingredients GmbH Phöbener Chaussee Werder (Havel) Germany Phone.: Fax: info@herbafood.de reduced stickiness improvement of product colour 6