The dough was stuffed with a mouthful of bulking agent and then ……
For those of you who eat pasta as a staple food, yeast, baking powder and other food bulking agents (the use of which) should be no stranger to you, so today we’re going to take a more in-depth peek at this bulking agent.
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1. What is a bulking agent?
Food bulking agent can make the dough initiation, the formation of dense porous tissue like a sponge, so that the products are puffy, soft or crispy, commonly used in pastries, cookies and other baked goods and buns, steamed bread and other family steamed food.
In addition to making the texture of the food become fluffy and delicious, but also in the chewing time so that saliva quickly penetrate into the food tissue, bring out the soluble substances inside the food, so that we can quickly taste the flavor of the food; when the food into the digestive tissues, the puffy tissues so that the digestive enzymes can be quickly hit the food inside, so that the food can be more easily and quickly digested, absorbed to reduce the loss of nutrients. Losses.
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2. Classification of bulking agents
Dough puffs up because of the gas produced by the bulking agent, which creates tiny pores in the dough.
Based on the principle of gas production in this pore, food bulking agents can be classified into 2 main categories.
Chemical bulking agents
Gases are produced through a chemical reaction. Depending on their acidity or alkalinity, they can be subdivided into the following 3 types:
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Alkaline bulking agents
Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), ammonium bicarbonate, etc:
Usually used alone, they decompose into gases when heated. Sodium bicarbonate decomposes carbon dioxide, and ammonium bicarbonate decomposes carbon dioxide and ammonia.
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Acid bulking agents
Potassium alum (alum, potassium aluminum sulfate), ammonium alum (aluminum ammonium sulfate), etc:
Usually used together with alkaline bulking agents, a neutralization reaction occurs, releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide gas.
In the national standard of food additives, except for fried noodle products, batter, wrapping powder, frying powder, the production of other wheat flour products (including steamed bread, pastry, bread, puffed food, etc.) are not allowed to use aluminum-containing bulking agent, so we should pay attention to the purchase of pasta products when buying qualified products from regular manufacturers.
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Compound Bulking Agent
Also known as baking powder/baking powder. Generally consists of carbonates, acids, starch and other ingredients, probably can be understood as “alkaline bulking agent + acid” or “alkaline bulking agent + acid bulking agent”, some compound bulking agent will also add some enzymes or yeast.
This kind of compound puffer contains both acid and alkaline ingredients, so there is no need to add alkaline substances to produce gas as in the case of acid puffer, which is more convenient and avoids the problem of browning of the dough by adding alkaline substances.
Biological bulking agent
Gas is produced through biological (yeast) fermentation. Yeast produces alcohol and carbon dioxide gases through anaerobic respiration in the dough. Carbon dioxide expands when heated (steaming, baking), causing the pores inside the dough to grow.
Yeast products include liquid yeast, fresh yeast, active dry yeast, instant dry yeast and other types.
The most common type is active dry yeast, which is produced by drying fresh yeast at a low temperature and has a long storage period and stable quality.
Active dry yeast needs to be activated before use: add warm water at 30-40 ℃, 4-5 times the amount of dry yeast (sometimes a little sugar is added to provide a little food for the yeast to grow and multiply), and dissolve for 15-30 minutes until the surface bubbles.
Of course, you should read the instructions on the yeast package to be sure, in case your yeast is special.
There is another type of yeast that seems to be less common on the market, but it’s a must for lazy people and doesn’t need to be activated. Just add it directly to the ingredients.
Yeast fermentation produces organic acids and other unique flavors that enrich the taste and nutrition of pasta products.
Therefore, compared with chemical bulking agents, the use of yeast fermentation can improve the flavor and nutritional value of food.
Forced science time
Yeast cells are rich in vitamin B12 (as well as proteins, other B vitamins, nucleotides, and other nutrients), which is not generally found in plant foods, making yeast ideal for vegetarians to supplement with vitamin B12.
However, because yeast has a cell wall, the ingredients inside are difficult to utilize directly. Some businesses have introduced nutritional yeast products that are easier to digest and absorb, giving vegans another option.
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3. Safety of aluminum-containing bulking agents
Do you remember the national standard that says, “The use of aluminum-containing bulking agents is not permitted in the production of wheat flour products, except for fried pasta products and ……”? One of the deep-fried pasta products includes doughnuts. And doughnuts are also one of the hardest hit areas with excessive aluminum content.
Aluminum is not an essential trace element, and the vast majority of the
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