If the need to maintain or raise product quality weren’t an issue, then answering all these demands would be much simpler. But quality is very important. Which is why sourcing the right products from suppliers who have deep expertise is a must-do rather than a nice-todo. This article examines what it takes to resolve some of the most important issues. Dough Margarine BAKING BASICS First, let’s remind ourselves what happens during the baking pro- cess. Puff pastry is characterised by its laminated structure of baked Figure 1: Puff pastry dough with layers of dough and margarine layers of dough separated by sin- gle, thin layers of margarine or fat – just as Figure 1 shows. oils, using different combinations Lecithin (E-322) is also used to to achieve good plasticity. Palm improve plasticity because it also When baked, steam expands each layer, as illustrated by Figure 1. The degree of expansion and height achieved are then key to describing the quality of the pastry. fats are slow crystallizing fats and polymorph fats, a fact that places special demands on the puff pastry margarine process: The margarine must be completely crystallized and most of the primary bondings is an emulsifier and will further improve the solubility of the distilled mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids/ mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E-471) in the fat blend. SLIP INTO SOMETHING MORE WORKABLE Puff pastry margarines are characterized by high plasticity, allowing the margarines to be worked with, folded and extruded without breaking or becoming greasy. The composition of the margarine, the processing and the tempering of the margarine are all important parameters in achieving just the right level of plasticity. And, if the margarine is used in a traditionally manufactured puff pastry dough, the plasticity of the margarine after production and tempering is particularly important. removed and exchanged to secondary bondings in order to keep the plasticity of the margarine after production. Subsequently, puff pastry margarine is tempered for two days to a week before distribution to obtain optimal plasticity. There’s one, quite simple principle in the drive to create non-greasy margarines: Create more and smaller crystals. This increases the surface area available to absorb the liquid oil created when working with the margarine. To do this it’s common, for example, to use polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, (E-475) in combination with When producing puff pastry dough, the margarine must be worked by hand or through extrusion. If the water-in-oil emulsion is unstable, free water will be created, decreasing the plasticity of the margarine and causing cracks that make it difficult to produce puff pastries of the right quality. Here, distilled mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids/mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E-471) can come to the rescue, reducing interfacial tension so that the final margarine, which is a water-in-oil emulsion, will contain a stable homogenous distribution of small water droplets that cannot agglomerate. Puff pastry margarine usually gets its fats from palm and liquid distilled mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, or mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E-471). TESTING PLASTICITY We decided to put theory into prac- tice, examining the effects of three Figure 2: Puff pastry dough during the baking process distinct emulsifier blends on a margarine with 80% fat content: Good expansion Regular layers A. A combination of distilled H2O mono- and diglycerides of DOUGH MARGARINE DOUGH Steam H2O fatty acids/ mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E-471) MARGARINE and polyglycerol esters of fat- DOUGH Steam ty acids, (E-475) (Palsgaard® H2O 1304) and lecithins (E-322). Before baking During baking 2
Download PDF fil