Nonfat dry milk substitute for yeast-leavened baked products

Abstract

A low-cost substitute for nonfat dry milk (NFDM) solids is provided which serves as a functional equivalent of NFDM in yeast-leavened doughs used in bread making or the like in terms of increasing desirable organoleptic properties such as loaf volume and crumb quality. The substitute comprises a component such as an ammonium salt which serves as a source of ammonium ion in the dough, and in preferred forms includes a quantity of deproteinized whey, a protein supplement such as soy isolates, and where necessary a base for controlling the pH of the substitute. In the preferred form the substitute serves as both a functional and nutritional replacement for NFDM in yeast-leavened doughs but is much lower in cost and can be used without difficulty in both batch and continuous bread making processes. The substitute is advantageously incorporated into NFDM-free yeast-leavened doughs at levels for substantially increasing loaf volume and other organoleptic properties of baked goods derived from the doughs, and compared with baked goods derived from otherwise identical doughs free of the substitute. However, the substitute can also be used to good effect in doughs containing reduced levels of NFDM solids. In practice it has been found that the substitute should be added in amounts for providing from about 0.02 to 0.20% (baker's weight) of ammonium ion on a calculated basis in yeast-leavened doughs.