Getting the right colour in bakery products.

The colour of a product is very often its signature. Some products will receive some decorations, where other products require that the crust will give its attractive appearance. The colour is a result of several factors in the process of creating a product:

• It’s formulation regarding the number of:
• sugars
• proteins
• starch
• fat and type of fat/oil
• The conditions of baking.

The colouring of proteins, under favourable conditions, is called maillard reaction. In most bakery products this happens when the outer layer reaches 120°C. The next step in colouration happens when the crust reaches about 150/160°C. The higher the colour reaches the darker the crust becomes.

 The choice of ingredients, type and source of protein, type of sugar, kernel size, etc. will make that we can influence the momentum that this happens. The heat in the oven can make a huge difference as well, where we need to be careful to make sure that the inner side of our products still reaches sufficient temperature to be fully baked while the outside hasn’t burned.

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