Fat imparts crucial mechanical and sensory properties to baked goods such as puff pastries, short dough, and bread. This research explores the utilization of fat replacements in these products due to the inherent health risks of both saturated and trans fats present in commonly-used butter and margarine. Although complete replacement by unsaturated fats would minimize these health concerns, these fats do not exhibit the required mechanical properties to produce a viable baked product. For example, pure canola oil cannot be wrapped, rolled, and laminated into dough to produce puff pastries or short dough. Hence, oil based gels of varying compositions and preparation methods aim to allow the entrapped unsaturated fat, canola oil, to mimic margarine’s mechanical properties and thus produce a feasible, healthier product. This research evaluates the effectiveness of lipid based gels in baked goods through physical, mechanical, and sensory properties. The lift, density, and change in product volume illustrate the fat’s leavening abilities. The firmness, total work of penetration, and cohesiveness are quantified via Lloyd TA1 penetration tests to illustrate the varying effects of each sample on product texture as well as compared with a margarine product.
- Bela Vershkov and Maya Davidovich-Pinhas “The effect of preparation temperature and composition on bigel performance as fat replacers” Food and Function, 14, 3838–3848 (2023).