Improving bread quality with flour and bread enzymes

From the Stone Age to today, bread is one of the most popular human-made foods. This delicious combination of flour and water dough often needs additives to improve its taste, texture, color, shelf life, nutrition and ease of production, and now, the “Flour and Bread” team has achieved an attractive enzyme combination that can bake all bakery products. The tradition of all over the country should be increased so that in addition to reducing wastage, bread with better shelf life can be obtained.

“Flour and bread” can also become a significant support for the protection of food security in Iran by reducing the amount of wheat imports.

Therefore, we sat down to talk with this young and expert team:

Please allow us to get to know your team first.

My name is Morteza Maleki, Ph.D. in Agricultural Biotechnology, Ms. Marzieh Ghasemi, MSc in Food Industry Biotechnology, and Ms. Elaha Toloui, an expert in food industry, are my colleagues in this project. We also benefit from the advice of the professors of the Food Industry Department of Tehran University and the Grain Research Institute. We also use the valuable experiences of Mr. Khazai, who has more than 10 years of experience in the field of baking traditional breads.

What is the purpose of the flour and bread team?

In this project, we plan to prepare an enzyme composition to increase the quality of traditional breads; Because 96% of breads in Iran are traditional.

what breads Included Will this be a project?

We work on all four traditional breads that are produced in the country including: Berberi, Lavash, Sengak and Tufton, but we started with Berberi bread first because it is tastier and has more fans.

In addition to the Durriz problem, what issues drew you to this area?

The issue of biotechnology and food industry biotechnology has always attracted me; On the other hand, nothing is consumed as much as bread in our country. The annual consumption of bread in our country is 160 kg, while this amount is 25 kg per year in the world average. In fact, Iranians eat 6 times more bread than the global statistics, and we are at the top of the world in this regard.

Currently, with the help of our enzyme formulation, barberry bread is produced that can be eaten for up to 24 hours, while if these enzymes are not used in the preparation of bread, the bread becomes stale after two hours and is no longer edible.

Do these enzymes affect the flavor of bread?

Yes; It has improved the aroma and taste of the bread; The texture of the bread is softened and easy to chew; Even the appearance of the bread has improved. The volume of the bread has also increased, which means that with 500 grams of dough, a larger loaf can be produced.

How long did it take to reach this enzyme composition?

At first, we did research work in this field, but when we started working in the laboratory, it took about 4 months to achieve the first enzyme formulation.

What tests have been done on this type of product?

There is a type of test called rheology, during which we find out whether this enzyme helps the consistency and quality of dough and bread or not. Because bakers often complain that the dough cannot be used after one to two hours and it tears when it is spread in the oven, but our enzyme cocktail makes the dough stay healthy and high-quality for up to 5 hours after processing. We also examine the effect of enzymes on bread texture.

At Ben Da Leb, we have equipment similar to a bakery. In addition, in our team, we have a person with 10 years of experience, with high skills and experience in the bakery, so that they can confirm the quality of the process and product.

A number of professional testers also test the bread and check it from all aspects. We even used the experiences of experienced bakers who were introduced to us by the Union of Traditional Bakers.

Why did you choose Ben Daleb Accelerator for deployment?

One of my friends named Arash Arab Ben Daleb He was busy and in fact, he introduced me to this collection and bread and flour enzyme project.

I had done similar activities before, but I found this project very interesting and the accelerator of Ben Daleb, suitable for work, and I have been here since about 4 and a half months ago.

Does this formulation lead to an increase in bakeries’ costs?

Since the use of these enzymes leads to an increase in the volume of bread and the shelf life of the produced dough is longer, this cost will ultimately benefit the baker, but our final plan is that the use of enzymes not only has no cost for the baker, but also leads to It will benefit him more.

What challenges have you faced so far?

This project is very difficult and we face some kind of challenge every day; For example, the flour produced in our country is not a fixed type and there is a lot of diversity and fluctuation in flour, and this issue is one of the main challenges of our team.

What permits are required for flour and bread and which ones have you received?

When entering the market, we need a license from the Food and Drug Administration, which is in the process of obtaining this license.

Have you had a cooperation agreement with the traditional bakers union of Tehran?

We used their experiences. To advance this project, we needed the experiences of bakers, and with the help of the traditional bakers’ union of Tehran, we used their experiences step by step.

Is there a business similar to flour and bread?

Currently, there are similar businesses in the country for industrial bread. In other countries, for example Turkey, which is our neighbor, with the help of Novozymes, which is the largest enzyme producer, an enzyme formulation has been produced to improve the quality of traditional bread, but there is no such product in the country.

Is the intellectual property of flour and bread registered?

is in progress; Since the formulation has just been finalized, this process has also just been completed.

When will the product enter the market?

We are slowly leaving the laboratory and entering the market, and in fact, we are going through the final stages.

Have you ever attracted capital?

Until today, we received help from Ben Daleb Accelerator for capital and equipment.

What vision do you envision for the commercialization of flour and bread?

Our current goal is to produce quality and tasty breads in all the bakeries of the country.

Do you have a special memory of your product development path in mind?

Every moment of this path has been memorable for us, but the most memorable moment was when we gave our first breads to people to test and give their opinion, and when we saw that the breads remained of high quality for several hours, it was unforgettable.

last word?

Thank you to everyone who helped us along the way, such as the directors of the Ben Daleb accelerator, our colleagues in the lab, the bakers’ union, the bakers, etc.