Shortening refers to edible hydrogenated oils of animal and vegetable fats and oils, high-grade refined oils, or mixtures of the above fats and oils, solid fats and oils manufactured by quick-cooling kneading, or solid, semi-solid, or flowable fats and oils with good shortening properties that are not manufactured by quick-cooling kneading.

Shortening and margarine are somewhat similar in appearance, but cannot be classified as such. Margarine generally contains about 20% water, it is table oil, can be eaten directly, contains more additives (color, flavor, etc.).

Shortening, on the other hand, has processing properties such as plasticity and emulsification, and is generally not suitable for direct consumption, but is used to process pastries, bread or fried foods.

Classification of shortening

1, according to the source of oil can be divided into:

(1) animal or vegetable shortening

(2) partially hydrogenated or fully hydrogenated shortening

(3) emulsified or non-emulsified shortening

2, according to the physical form can be divided into:

(1) plastic shortening

(2) fluid shortening

(3) powdered shortening (the so-called “powdered grease”)

Many varieties of shortening on the foreign market, according to the above classification and then to the series. For example, the degree of hydrogenation of fats and oils, the size of plasticity, inflation rate, consistency or viscosity, the oil content of the powder, and so on.

In the domestic market, the domestic shortening varieties are not very complete, the current baking industry has not yet put forward diversified or personalized requirements.

Role of shortening for bread

1、Increase the volume of bread

The American R.C. Hoseney and Moore through the study found that: in the heating process, the center temperature of the dough reaches 55 ℃ before adding bread special shortening and do not add bread special shortening of bread are to maintain the same expansion rate; but more than 55 ℃, add bread special shortening of the dough is still to maintain the same rate of expansion, and do not add bread special shortening of the dough expansion rate is The expansion rate of dough without shortening decreases rapidly.

Research shows that: bread in the baking of the oil melting gathered to the bubble around the formation of oil – gas surface, when the gas expansion is not easy to break, so that the amount of gas escape is reduced, thus producing a large volume, the gas chamber uniform high-quality bread.

2、Improve the anti-aging of bread

Bread is a biochemical colloid system, in the storage process will occur a series of physical, chemical and microbial changes, so that the quality of bread is greatly affected.

For example, the hardness and roughness of the bread heart increases, easy to fall crumbs, the crust loses brittleness, loses luster, the flavor deteriorates, the aroma disappears, the digestive absorption rate decreases, the starch in the flesh coagulates, the soluble starch decreases and so on. These phenomena are usually referred to as aging of bread, also known as staling or hardening.

From the viewpoint of rheology, the increase of bread hardness is an important sign of aging.

Bread-specific shortening can help bread cores maintain their softness during bread storage and prolong the acceptable level. It is hypothesized that the anti-aging mechanism model is that the linear fatty acid chains in the emulsifier molecules are embedded inside the helical starch molecules, thus preventing the aggregation and recrystallization of the starch molecules. When this combination involves the branch chain of branched starch, it will affect the recrystallization of branched starch, thus delaying the hardening of bread.

3、Improve the processing performance of dough

The combination of shortening for bread and the molecules in the flour can make the dough form a larger gluten network structure, making the gluten more elastic and tough. The increased elasticity and toughness of the gluten can improve the air holding capacity of the dough in the fermentation and rising process, and improve the degree of fermentation.

At the same time, the elasticity and toughness of the dough increases, the mechanical processing resistance improves, and the adaptability of the dough to changes in raw materials is also improved.

4、Giving bread a special flavor

Special shortening for bread can have complex chemical reaction with the sugar in the bread in the process of baking, thus giving the bread a special flavor.

However, poor quality shortening has a strong smell of oil or flavor due to the selection of raw materials and processing, which may produce an unpleasant smell after baking.

Quality Judgment Criteria for Bread Shortening

Combined with the role of bread shortening in the bread, it is not difficult to find a bread shortening can be judged from the following aspects:

1. Whether it can increase the volume of bread.

2, can effectively delay the aging of the bread, do not fall crumbs.

3, whether the bread scoop heart toughness increase, delicate organization.

4, whether to improve the processing performance of the dough.

5、Is it able to give bread special flavor.

What can be used instead of shortening?

When making pastry, butter is often used as a substitute, which has a stronger flavor.

In fact, the most delicious or butter. Shortening is margarine, which is trans fat and is worse for people than butter. For health reasons, use vegetable oils such as olive oil or sunflower oil. Add some powdered milk if you want a creamy flavor. Coconut oil and palm oil can also be used, but they are saturated fats, just like butter, and should be eaten sparingly.

The difference between shortening and butter

When we make breads, cookies, and cakes, there is always some confusion about the ingredients. Shortening and butter are somewhat similar in appearance, but they cannot be taken as a class, and some people just confuse shortening with butter and margarine, which is not a class.

Butter: English name (butter), butter is also known as cream, taste better than shortening, is extracted from milk fats, so some places also called “butter”, but there is also a fat extracted from cow fat is also called butter, English name (cattle?fat), do not confuse. However, this type of butter has a poor taste and is not used for cooking, so the butter mentioned in the recipe still refers to butter.

Shortening refers to refined animal and vegetable fats and oils, hydrogenated oils, or mixtures of the above fats and oils, chilled sharply and kneaded into solid fats and oils, or not chilled sharply and kneaded into solid or fluidized fats and oils products. Shortening has processing properties such as plasticity and emulsification, and is generally not suitable for direct consumption, but is used to process pastries, bread or fried foods, so it must have good processing properties. Shortening has different properties and different production processes.