Application of Food Additive Calcium Sulfate (Gypsum) in Baking

Application of Food Additive Calcium Sulfate (Gypsum) in Baking

Improve the hardness of water

Water is one of the four basic raw materials for bread processing. The water requires moderate hardness which is 8-16 degrees. Because the presence of calcium and magnesium in the hard water will strengthen the toughness of the gluten, making the bread feel rough, and make bread fermentation time longer. Soft water will make the dough too soft, sticky, shorten the fermentation time which makes bread easy to collapse. Hard water can be added in sodium carbonate to moderate softening; soft water can be added in calcium sulfate to increase the hardness which can increase gluten, improve the dough holding capacity, making bread bulky and loose.

Adjust the dough’s pH, provide yeast growth environment, improve enzyme activity

Calcium sulfate and other inorganic salts can adjust the pH value of the water, so that the yeast can grow in the optimum pH 5-6 environment. When the calcium ions in the dough reaches a certain concentration, the α-amylase can maintain proper conformation to maintain its maximum activity and stability. The α-amylase can break down the long chain of starch and decompose it into dextrin and a small amount of oligosaccharides, maltose and glucose which can provide carbon source for the yeast to produce CO2, so that the bread volume increases.

As a yeast food

Yeast plays an important role in the production of breads such as bread, pastries, etc., and its effects are as follows: biological bulking; dough gluten spread; produce volatile organic so that bread has a special scent and so on. Calcium sulfate as an inorganic salt for yeast growth can provide the sulfur and calcium nutrient elements needed for yeast growth and reproduction. These elements are mainly used as the structure of yeast cells, sulfur as the constituent of yeast protein, calcium is the second messenger of yeast cells and the base of a variety of active protein. It is also helpful for the penetration of nutrients into the cells. At present, the bread additives contain ammonium and calcium salts as yeast food to promote the propagation and fermentation of yeast.

Nutrition enhancer

 Calcium sulfate as a flour calcium enhancer is widely used. According to the existing data (chemical, biochemical, toxicology, etc.), calcium sulfate in food additives has very low toxicity as food substances.

食品添加剂硫酸钙（石膏）在烘焙中的应用

改善水的硬度

     水是面包加工的四大基础原料之一，面包加工用水要求硬度应适中，即8—16度。过硬水中钙、镁离子的存在会强化面筋的韧性，使面包口感变得粗糙，并使面包发酵时间延长；而过软水会使面团过于柔软、发黏，缩短发酵时间，面包易塌陷。对过硬的水可采取加碳酸钠沉淀等方法进行适度软化；过软的水可通过添加微量硫酸钙等方法来增加硬度，有利于增加面筋筋性，提高面团的持气性，使得面包膨松和疏松。

调节面团的pH值，提供酵母生长环境，提高酶活性。

硫酸钙等无机盐可以调节水的pH值，使酵母在最适pH 5—6的环境中生长，充分发挥酵母活性。当面团中钙离子达到一定浓度时，可使α-淀粉酶保持适当的构象，从而可以维持其最大的活性与稳定性，α-淀粉酶可将淀粉的长链断开，分解为糊精和少量低聚糖、麦芽糖和葡萄糖。可供酵母碳源以产生CO₂，使面包体积增大^[5]。

作为酵母的食料

酵母在面包、糕点等需要发酵处理的面团生产中占有重要的地位，其作用很多如：生物膨松作用；面团面筋扩展作用；产生挥发性有机物使面包具有特殊的香味等。硫酸钙作为酵母生长所需的无机盐可提供酵母生长繁殖所需的硫、钙营养元素，这些元素主要作为酵母细胞的结构，硫作为酵母蛋白质的组成成分，钙是酵母细胞中第二信使也是多种活性蛋白质的辅基。同样还能产生渗透作用，有利于营养物质渗透进入细胞内。目前国内外研制的面包添加剂都含有铵盐和钙盐等酵母食料，以促进酵母的繁殖和发酵[5]。

营养强化剂

 同样硫酸钙作为面粉的钙强化剂普遍适用，硫酸钙根据已有的资料（化学、生物化学、毒理学等）在食品添加剂中属于毒性极低的食品物质。