This study focuses on use of alpha amylase in the rapidly changing industrial scenario for the food and beverages industries. Alpha amylase is extensively used in the food and beverage industry to fulfill the growing consumer demands. Alpha-amylase is used in glucose syrup production and further used in the various distillation processes. Alpha enzymes are also used in production of many other food products like fruits and vegetables, dairy, bakery and confectionaries and oils and fats. The food processing units use alpha-amylase to produce chemically free safe food and provide high quality products along with the convenience of ready-to-eat-food which is easily available everywhere.

This study focuses on use of alpha amylase in the rapidly changing industrial scenario for the food and beverages industries. Alpha amylase is extensively used in the food and beverage industry to fulfill the growing consumer demands. Alpha-amylase is used in glucose syrup production and further used in the various distillation processes. Alpha enzymes are also used in production of many other food products like fruits and vegetables, dairy, bakery and confectionaries and oils and fats. The food processing units use alpha-amylase to produce chemically free safe food and provide high quality products along with the convenience of ready-to-eat-food which is easily available everywhere.

Food when processed for commercial use, generally use chemicals in the process. However, if the chemicals are replaced by enzymes like alpha-amylase then high-quality products are created as opposed to chemically treated products. Use of alpha-amylase enzymes have resulted in reduced carbon footprint, energy consumption and at the same time ensuring that it is cost-effective product that fulfills all customer demands. With the help of food enzymes the processed food industry is growing as it helps in providing more healthy and nutritious and favored food products. Furthermore use of alpha-amylase enzymes gives a new twist to the traditional eating alternatives. This overall reduces the manufacturing costs of production of food products. Whiskey is one of the earliest examples that uses industrial enzyme. Currently almost all of the food products use some form of industrial enzyme. With respect to this there are various biocatalysts being used by food products and the scope of use of alpha-amylase across various food industries.

How the baking industry is using Alpha-Amylase

Bakery products are one of the most traditional food products that are used as a daily need commodity across all households. Breads, cakes and muffins are part of meals since generations and earlier it was baked at home. Baking the bread requires specific skill set and expertise as it is to be made at specific temperature conditions. To understand how Alpha-Amylase helps in the bakery industry, let us take a look at the process of baking.

Ideal ingredients for baking breads are wheat flour, (a mixture of starch, gluten, lipids, and other similar enzymes) starch, yeast and water. After these ingredients are mixed, biochemical and biophysical process is initiated. The changes include expansion of volume, water evaporation, porous structure, starch gelatinization, protein denaturation and forming of crust. The addition of yeast helps in giving the dough required characteristics. When extra enzymes are added to the dough it results in faster baking phases and helps in rising of the bread dough to save time and give it required texture. Temperature and weather conditions play an important role in making the perfect dough for breads. Since these are never constant and vary across regions use of enzymes are also recommended. Across various countries there are various methods of making bakery products, however the basic process remains same.

The process of baking is supplemented with enzymes from different source which are the endogenous enzymes in flour and exogenous enzymes added to the dough. When supplements like enzymes are added to flour and dough it generally improves the flour quality along with working as a baking aid. Enzymes usually modify the dough and helps in rheology, gas retention and softness the crumbs across various bread manufacturers. It changes the product softness in various cakes and reduces acrylamide formation. Enzymes are added at low quantities to improve the quality of dough. Originally wheat has very less quantity of amylase, but sprouted wheat has amylase in abundance. However, the shelf life of sprouted wheat is very less and hence the need for added enhancers. For bakery products especially in breads alpha-amylase is used extensively.

Alpha –amylase is usually used to initiate the industrial process of the dough. When amylase is added to the dough it develops little quantities of dextrin that further helps the yeast to act upon. In simpler words, the main use of amylase is to break the complex starch equipment into simple sugar parts. Which further assists the fermentation process Alpha-Amylase, further helps in fermentation of the process to obtain a uniform structure for crumbs. It is widely used industrial bakery products where there are huge quantities of breads being made on a regular basis. Alpha-amylase is a product that gives uniform structure to crumbs of bread, irrespective of the loaf size. It further degrades the damaged starch content present in flour and further allows yeast to work better during fermentation and proofing at the initial stage of baking. They also increase and improve the fermentable sugar level across dough.

However, it is important to purify the amylase before it is being used and for this there are many traditional approaches being used. As the traditional methods of purification viz., salting out, acid fractionation and chromatographic are time consuming some new methods like three-phase partitioning is used. These further enhance the overall bread making process.

Conclusion:

There is an increased demand of bakery products due to growing population and popularity towards processed foods. Also, the demand of gluten free food products which do not contain chemical additives is growing. There is a lot of technological advancement happening across the biotechnology industry and has resulted in further enhancement in the overall baking industry. Alpha-amylase is used for producing gluten free bakery products which is in increased demand. Across the globe, health conscious people prefer having organic bakery products as opposed to chemical ones.

Furthermore, currently the food and beverage manufacturers are receiving large amount of demand for producing healthy and tasty foods at a pocket-friendly value. To meet the growing demand industry leaders are working towards providing the best of food solutions to consumers. Furthermore, various rules and regulations have been made that further influence the bakery industry and monitor the usage of alpha-amylase in the products.