Creating Clean Labels for Bakery

By Cindy Hazen, Contributing Editor

Baking science relies on a series of physical, chemical and biological reactions. With experience and minimal ingredient variation, these become somewhat predictable. Hitting the clean-label mark can be harder because there is little regulation or science that drives consumer or manufacturer expectations. But the market is seeing an increased demand for these so-called "clean labels," driving more research into alternate ingredient systems, particularly for functional ingredients required in baked products, such as leavening, emulsifiers, shortening, dough conditioners and colors.

Look at leavenings

Leavening, or rise, of baked goods occurs when carbon dioxide gas is released. In breads rolls, pastries and some crackers, this can be achieved with yeast. However, cookies, cakes, muffins and other baked products rely on the chemical reaction between an acid and a base, usually phosphate salts and baking soda. Unfortunately for the chemo-phobic consumer, these typically have "chemical-sounding" names.

What's more there is not an industry standard or regulatory reference for "natural' or "clean" chemical leavenings, so  many manufacturers use the list of allowable synthetic ingredients from USDA's National  Organic Standards Board (NOSB), Washington, DC, (ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm),  according to Barbara Heidolph, principal, marketing technical service, ICL Performance Products LP, St. Louis. While organic and natural are two distinctly different concepts, section 205.605 of the NOSB list provides guidance for nonagricultural (nonorganic) substances allowed in or on processed products labeled as organic or made with organic ingredients or food groups.

Leavening phosphates currently on the list are calcium phosphates (monobasic, dibasic, and tribasic)," Heidolph says. No other disclaimers are noted, so these three ingredients can be used in any food application. This would allow monocalcium phosphate (MCP) monohydrate, anhydrous monocalcium phosphate (AMCP) and dicalcium phosphate dehydrate (DCPD) to be used as leavening agents."

Sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAPP) is listed for use only as a leavening agent. I think the majority of clean labels would include MCP, AMCP, DCPD and SAPP," Heidolph says.

Another source of guidance comes from Whole Foods Market, a purveyor of natural and organic products. They post on their website a list of ingredients they find unacceptable in food products. The other criterion that is often used is consumer familiarity with the product name. Certainly, MCP falls into this category as it has been in baking powders, cookies and crackers since the mid-1800s," Heidolph adds. Or potassium hydrogen tartrate, an ingredient consumers know (and accept) as cream of tartar.

It also helps to look at the ingredients contribution to the nutritional panel. These phosphates bring some calcium fortification with them. Sodium can enter the formula by way of baking soda. To replace baking soda with potassium bicarbonate leads to a label designation that is not as well known by consumers," Heidolph says. However, it allows for sodium reduction, which helps the formulator achieve other potential key initiatives. So, the formulator and companies will need to balance the targets they want to achieve as they formulate new products for specific markets."

Reaction rates

The reason leavening selection is so important is the rate at which these ingredients react is critical to volume and texture of the finished product.

In general, if a developer elects to only use MCP,  AMCP or  DCPD, they will find they have a limited range of reaction rate control," cautions Heidolph. Relatively speaking, MCP and AMCP are fast; DCPD has a late reaction in the oven.

In order to make these systems work, the developer may need to modify the process to ensure short process times and minimize disruption of the dough or batter matrix so that they do not drive off the CO2 gas that has formed," Heidolph says. "Often, what is lacking is the time delay or early oven reaction that can be achieved with the SAPP and SALP (sodium aluminum phosphate). To that end, it is great if they follow the NOSB allowances and use the SAPP product line to deliver controlled release when it is needed."

Fiber is helpful

Savvy developers know that fiber can bring, not just nutritional, but functional and textural benefits to baked goods and may be able to replace less-label-friendly ingredients.

Potato fiber can be used to replace shelf-life extenders and emulsifiers in many bakery formulations," says Ramakanth Jonnala, Ph.D., R&D project leader, grain science, International Fiber Corporation (IFC), North Tonawanda, NY. In sandwich breads, as well as in yeast-raised doughnuts, 1% to 3% addition of potato fiber can extend shelf life."

Sugar beet and oat fibers can act as dough conditioners by helping to improve dough machinability and can  also replace some of the functionalities of modified starches. Addition of 2% to 3% sugar-beet fiber in white breads can also improve dough properties without much gluten network disruption," Jonnala says. "Using 2% to 3% oat fiber can reduce breakage and improve pliability in tortillas."

Sugar-beet fiber is widely used in gluten-free and sugar-free bakery products as a bulking and structural agent that contributes to improvement in crumb grain structure. Sugar beet fiber is often added to sugar-free breads (4% to 5%), muffins (2% to 3%), doughnuts (1% to 2%) and cookies (1% to 2%)," Jonnala says. 

In general, fibers tend to absorb significant amounts of water in a formulation when compared to other ingredients," Jonnala says. The amount of water in a target baked-product formulation should be adjusted depending on the type of fiber used. Typically, longer fibers absorb and retain more water than shorter ones. Other processing adjustments, such as mixing time and fermentation time, will also have to be adjusted accordingly. It is normal that when fibers are used both mixing and fermentation times would have to be increased."

IFC offers several fiber ingredients that are considered natural, including organic oat fiber and organic sugar-beet fiber in different fiber lengths and particle sizes.

Aside from a natural- and/or organic-label benefit, fiber ingredients in baked goods contribute to dietary-fiber claims. As a bonus, fibers can also aid with calorie reduction while maintaining textural and eating properties. For example, in breads, these fibers can provide up to 25% calorie reduction," Jonnala says. In addition, these fiber-containing breads can be labeled as providing a good source of fiber (2.5 grams or more fiber per serving)." 

Importance of fat

The type of fat used in baked goods is high on consumers radar. Partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats are commonly avoided for clean-label products. Saturated fat is a concern to some. But meeting the label wishes of the consumer is only half the game, because the developers choice of fat can make or break a baked product.

Fats provide structure, lubricity, tenderness and shortening characteristics for baked goods," explains Tom Tiffany, senior technical manager, ADM, Decatur, IL. For many bakery products, blends of palm oil with vegetable oils, such as soybean oil and canola oil, provide the functionality and clean-label attributes food manufacturers desire. By varying the level of palm oil or palm fractions in the blend, the solid fat content can be adjusted to meet the functional requirements needed for the application." 

In some cases, the shelf life of baked goods produced with palm- and vegetable-oil blends can be similar to that of baked goods produced with partially hydrogenated oils. It really depends on the shelf-life expectation of the manufacturer, the packaging and the impact of other ingredients," Tiffany says. In cases where the shelf life cannot be met, alternative vegetable oils such as oleic canola oil or high-oleic soybean oil can be used to increase the oxidative stability of the blend."

Textural variations are attributed to the amount of vegetable oil in the blend, process conditions, transportation and storage. If handled properly, the palm and vegetable oil blends do provide positive textural attributes to the bakery product," Tiffany says. "It is important to evaluate all aspects of the food manufacturing process to determine the degree of solid fat needed to formulate various baked goods."

Many shortenings used for icings and doughs need emulsifiers that may or may not be  label-friendly. Mono- and diglycerides are common emulsifiers, and are made by high-temperature interesterification of triglycerides with glycerol.  lecithin is also frequently used as an emulsifier. Lecithin, originally extracted from eggs, has been used commercially use for more than a century, but today less expensive sources, such as soybean and other vegetable oils, are used for production.

For palm ingredients, an example ingredient statement might read palm oil with lecithin" or modified palm oil." Its up to the manufacturer to decide which is cleaner."

Finishing touches

Dont forget the color added to baked good's toppings or fillings. For clean labels, FD&C "artificial" colors are out. Jeff Greaves, president, Food Ingredient Solutions, Teterboro, NJ, says that, for fruit fillings, red is typically derived from carmine or anthocyanins such as purple sweet potato, red cabbage, black carrot, grape and, if heat processing is minimal, beet juice. Purple comes from red cabbage, but he cautions you need to increase pH to 4 to 4.5. Yellow can be obtained from turmeric, annatto or beta carotene. Orange comes from  cochineal extract or paprika, but keep in mind that spices may contribute distinct flavor notes that might be undesirable in sweet applications.

For icings, we typically offer carmine for red," Greaves says. While considered natural, carmine and cochineal products must be labeled because they have been implicated as an allergen. Some consumers are concerned that FDA does not require the source to be labeled--the cochineal insect, a source that some people find offensive.

Theres the rub. Clean labels are in the eye of the beholder. Whats natural to one is distasteful to another. Its up to the food developer and manufacturer to find the middle road and create products that live up to everyones expectations.

Cindy Hazen, a 20-year veteran of the food industry, is a freelance writer based in Memphis, TN. She can be reached at [email protected].