Extension of Fibreline range allows oat rich breads, says Danisco

Jan Charles Hansen, senior bakery application specialist at Danisco, said that its new technology enables bakers to replace up to 50 per cent of white flour with wholemeal oat flour, and also ensures that manufacturers overcome the dense, dry texture and dominant fibre taste characteristics of many wholemeal products.

Bread made with a high content of wholemeal flour normally has a fast staling rate and a wet, compact and fragile breadcrumb:

“The natural fats in oat flour encapsulate the starch granules within and render the dough more vulnerable to mechanical stress and create uneven crumb structure,​” explained Hansen.

He told BakeryandSnacks.com that the hydrochloride and monoglucoside ingredients in Fibreline 103 overcome such hurdles and ensure an improved, homogenous crumb structure.

Oat flour makes up 20 per cent up of standard oat bread recipes, and he said that Danisco was aiming to provide a product that could boost oat flour content in bread to ensure higher beta glucane levels.

Hansen said the implications of the increased beta glucane content means bakers could therefore have sufficient soluble fibre in their oat breads to qualify for a cardiovascular health claim approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Issued in December 2009, the agency’s opinion on beta glucans, which is based on an intake of 3 grams per day, states that “Regular consumption of beta glucans contributes to maintenance of normal blood cholesterol concentrations.”​

Based on calculations of 50 per cent of the total flour being oat flour in an oat bread recipe, the average level of beta glucanes would be 0.78 g per serving, with one serving being equivalent to two slices of bread, explained Hansen.

Furthermore, he said, there is no requirement on behalf of the baker to invest in additional equipment when incorporating the Fibreline 103 into their process.