By: Chang Rui Jia
Bread Production Challenges | What Is a Bread Improver? | Benefits of Bread Improvers | Musim Mas’ Bread Improver Complete Solution
For commercial and industrial bakers, delivering high-quality bread at scale requires more than traditional baking expertise. Today’s consumers demand bread that remains consistently soft, visually appealing, and retains freshness throughout their shelf life [1]. Meeting these expectations presents an ongoing operational challenge – shelf-life extension remains one of the most critical issues in large-scale production. As staling sets in, bread quickly loses key sensory attributes such as softness and aroma, directly impacting consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty [2]. This challenge becomes even more pronounced in distribution-heavy markets, where baked goods must maintain quality over long transit durations and extended retail shelf exposure.
Some common challenges in bread production include:
Crumb Firmness
Freshly baked bread starts to lose its soft, moist texture within the first two days post-production. This is caused by starch retrogradation – a natural process where gelatinized starch molecules recrystallize, making the crumb firmer and less enjoyable to eat. In the absence of functional ingredients like enzymes and emulsifiers, staling occurs rapidly, shortening the bread’s saleable window.
Product Spoilage
For regional or international distribution, the journey from bakery to shelf can span several days. Without ingredients that manage moisture migration and microbial stability, bread products may spoil before they ever reach consumers. This leads to wasted inventory, damaged brand reputation, and lost sales opportunities.
Higher Returns Due to Reduced Freshness
Retailers often return unsold bread due to visible staleness, reduced softness, or off-flavors – especially in climates with high humidity or fluctuating temperatures. These returns create unnecessary losses, increase operational costs, and challenge supply chain efficiency for bakeries.
Limited Market Reach Due to Storage Constraints
When shelf life is short, bakeries are restricted to nearby markets where products can be delivered quickly. This limitation reduces business scalability and prevents brands from expanding into high-demand regions with longer logistics cycles. In contrast, a longer-lasting bread product unlocks broader market access and more flexible distribution strategies.
To overcome these obstacles, functional ingredients have become a go-to solution. They make this possible by helping bakers achieve reliable results at scale while tackling common production challenges like dough variability and shelf-life limitations. One of the most effective tools in this space is the bread improver.
What Is a Bread Improver?
A bread improver is a blend of performance-enhancing ingredients used at various stages of bread production – including mixing, proofing, baking, and storage – to optimize the baking process. It plays a crucial role in commercial and industrial baking, where consistent dough performance, product uniformity, and extended shelf life are essential.
Ingredients in Bread Improvers
Emulsifiers
Emulsifiers such as sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL), diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono- and diglycerides (DATEM), and lecithin are essential for improving dough strength and elasticity. They help stabilize the interaction between gluten and water, creating a more cohesive dough structure. This enhances gas retention during fermentation, resulting in better oven spring, improved crumb structure, and increased loaf volume. In industrial baking, emulsifiers such as mono- and diglycerides also contribute to a softer texture and extended shelf life, helping maintain product quality throughout distribution.
Enzymes
Enzymes are natural biological catalysts that break down complex starches and proteins during the baking process. In bread improvers, enzymes like amylases, proteases, and lipases are used to boost dough fermentation, increase volume, and improve softness. By slowing down starch retrogradation, enzymes also help delay staling – supporting longer-lasting freshness in packaged bread and baked goods.
Oxidizing Agents
Oxidizing agents such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C) strengthen gluten bonds by promoting oxidation during mixing. This results in better dough stability, improved machinability, and higher loaf volume. In automated bakery lines, oxidizing agents ensure consistent dough behaviour, minimizing production disruptions and enhancing finished product uniformity.
Acidity Regulators and Buffers
Maintaining an optimal pH is critical for yeast fermentation and overall dough development. Acidity regulators like calcium carbonate or sodium acid pyrophosphate help stabilize the dough environment, improving yeast activity and ensuring reliable proofing performance. Buffers also enhance dough tolerance, making it easier to handle extended fermentation or varying temperature conditions – especially important in large-scale or ambient baking operations.
Shortenings and Specialty Fats
Fats play a vital role in baked goods, especially in shaping mouthfeel, tenderness, and moisture retention. Specialty shortenings and functional fats improve dough plasticity, contribute to a soft, rich crumb texture, and help prevent dryness during storage. In bread improvers, these fats are optimized to support both sensory quality and shelf-life extension – ensuring products meet consumer expectations for softness and freshness.
Benefits of Bread Improvers
With each functional ingredient working in synergy, bread improvers offer far more than the sum of their parts. From individual ingredients to ready-to-use blends, these formulations are tailored to address the specific challenges of commercial baking – helping bakers boost processing efficiency, ensure product consistency, and meet evolving consumer expectations. Depending on the formulation, bread improvers can deliver a wide range of performance and quality benefits:
Strengthen Gluten Networks
A strong gluten network is crucial for good loaf structure and a uniform crumb. Bread improvers support gluten development, helping dough retain its shape and perform reliably across large-scale production.
Increase Gas Retention
By improving the dough’s ability to trap carbon dioxide during fermentation, bread improvers result in greater oven spring and lighter, higher-volume loaves – a key marker of quality in commercial and packaged breads.
Improve Softness and Delay Staling
Softness is a major consumer expectation in baked goods. Bread improvers incorporate enzymes and emulsifiers that slow starch retrogradation, keeping the crumb soft and fresh for longer – helping extend bread shelf life naturally.
Enhance Dough Handling and Machinability
Dough consistency is critical in automated baking systems. Bread improvers improve extensibility, reduce stickiness, and make dough easier to work with, minimizing disruptions on high-speed lines and ensuring uniform shaping.
Extend Shelf Life Under Various Storage Conditions
With improved moisture retention and staling control, bread improvers help reduce spoilage and food waste, enabling broader distribution and longer shelf presence – especially important in hot or humid climates.
Musim Mas’ Bread Improver Complete Solution
At Musim Mas, our Bread Improver, MASEMUL® ES 8001, is a high-performance, ready-to-use blend designed to tackle the most pressing challenges in commercial bread production. Using our in-house emulsifier as the core, we integrate a precise combination of functional ingredients into one multi-functional bread improver that simplifies formulation and enhances baking performance.
This all-in-one bread improver solution improves dough handling, boosts consistency across batches, and extends the shelf life of breads, buns, and wholegrain products. Ideal for industrial bakeries, food manufacturers, and product developers, it delivers reliable softness, volume, and quality across diverse flour types and production environments.
If you’re looking to optimize your formulations and streamline production, Musim Mas’ Bread Improver Complete Solution offers the functionality and convenience modern bakeries need to stay competitive.
References:
[1] https://www.supplysidefbj.com/bakery/consumer-expectations-of-bakery-challenge-clean-label
[2] https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13132062
