Flour treatment specialist Mühlenchemie has developed a series of enzyme-based products that improve baking results with composite flours: With Compoenzym, a high proportion of wheat can be replaced by alternative raw materials without compromising quality. This enables the use of locally available grains and reduces dependence on global raw material markets.

Rising grain prices and varying market availability have hit the milling and baking industry hard. In particular, import of the wheat used for many baked goods increases the cost pressure on companies. So mills are looking for ways to make their raw materials sourcing less dependent on the global wheat market. One way to achieve this is to use composite flours made of wheat and other crops, such as maize, cassava or sorghum, which are grown and available locally in many parts of the world. The use of regionally grown grains or other crops makes it possible to efficiently manage raw materials fluctuations and shorten supply chains. Reverting to local suppliers not only supplements wheat imports, but also opens up the possibility of marketing innovative and more sustainable products made of composite flour.

With Compozym from Mühlenchemie, the crops mentioned can replace up to 20 % of the wheat without impairing quality. Normally, however, reducing the proportion of wheat flour and adding other flours changes the properties of the flour, dough and final baked goods. This can result in reduced volume, lower stability and shorter fresh-keeping, as well as differences in the colour and/or surface structure of the final products. “With Compozym, bakers can compensate for these effects and get the same results as with pure wheat flour”, Product Manager Greta Reers assures.

The toolbox consists of intelligent, state-of-the-art product solutions, including complete solutions for tin loaves like sandwich bread, freestanding breads like baguettes and fino, as well as flatbreads like parotha and chapati. It also offers products to address the special requirements of composite flour, regardless of the application. Among these are solutions that provide better water absorption during dough production, improved stability during fermentation or longer freshness and softness. All the solutions can be used in a variety of composite flours.

Compozym was developed based on extensive analyses in rheology and subsequently in the baking laboratory and has been tested and refined with a wide variety of flours and applications. “Our development work continues, and we have further product solutions in the pipeline,” Greta Reers notes. “We’re expanding the Compozym line to address additional applications and are continually adapting it to market conditions.”

For this purpose, Mühlenchemie is in close dialogue with over 2,000 mills in more than 150 countries. In recent years, the company has steadily expanded its capacities for applications research in local markets. Thus, Mühlenchemie technicians are familiar with the latest requirements of the mills, which raw materials are on the market and how to process them for which results. This knowledge is bundled at the central “Futuremaker” Stern-Technology Center in Ahrensburg/Germany, where over 100 scientists and applications technologists work on tailor-made solutions to meet the requirements of the worldwide milling industry.