by Glen Thompson, chief editor As consumers continue to seek out
baked goods with the appearance, taste and mouthfeel of home-
baked products, commercial bakers constantly are experimenting
with new formulations to meet customers’ appeals for a culinary
connection to memories of fresh-from-the-oven bakery foods.
Leaveners are among the most basic ingredients in every bakery,
and by understanding their potential uses, bakers today are able
to create formulations that not only satisfy, but surpass the
expectations of their nostalgia-driven customers. Biological
leavening technology has been traced back roughly 5,000 years to
Ancient Egypt and chemical leavening has been around for at
least two centuries. Of course, there have been modifications,
refinements, taste changes, etc., but when you get down to brass
tacks, the three basic methodologies remain the same: Yeast
remains the primary leavening system for breads, rolls, many
sweet goods and other dough products; chemical leaveners, which
consists of acid and