Uni partnership draws on innovation to improve added-fibre bread quality

KTP Associate Liam Morris, Céline Laigle from Puratos and Professor Grant Campbell (left to right), in front of the bioethanol plant in the Chemical Engineering lab at the University of Huddersfield

The University of Huddersfield is partnering with an international food innovation company to help improve food quality in bakery products such as bread.

Professor Grant Campbell is bringing his innovative research on dietary fibres in bakery products to the three-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Puratos, a global bakery, patisserie and chocolate solutions supplier.

The collaboration will see the Professor of Chemical Engineering at Huddersfield work with Puratos using an experimental and modelling approach he has developed to provide insights into the effects of dietary fibres in bread.

His mathematical models enable the combined effects of ingredients to be better predicted, and therefore the easier formulation of ingredient mixtures to deliver targeted functionality.

This new approach will be adopted by Puratos, allowing the firm to design complex bread improver formulations faster and more effectively, using a broader range of healthy natural fibre ingredients.

Professor Campbell, of the University’s Department of Physical and Life Sciences, and Director of the Biorefinery Engineering and Bioprocessing Research Centre, commented: “Eating more dietary fibre is the best thing most of us could do to improve our health, but fibre tends to damage the structure and palatability of bread.  This project will help Puratos create bread formulations that deliver the health benefits of fibre while maintaining the quality and appeal of breads.”

Celine Laigle from Puratos, commented: “Puratos is driven by the principle of "Food Innovation for Good," with a focus on developing food solutions that support health and well-being globally. This project will investigate the functional roles of selected natural ingredients in bakery applications. By introducing a new methodology, we aim to speed up the development process, allowing us to design and test innovative, health-focused bakery solutions more efficiently.”

Many functional ingredients are included in bread improver formulations and finding the right combinations and levels relies on labour-intensive baking trials, guided by the intuition and experience of the bakery formulation scientist.

This KTP will speed up formulation trials by quantifying the functional properties of natural dietary fibre ingredients and predicting how their combinations will affect the breadmaking process and bread quality. Using an instrumented dough mixer that measures evolving dough texture during simulated mixing, heating and cooling, the models will be able to distinguish the separate effects of flour, water and fibres on different aspects of bread quality. The models will then be used to identify combinations of fibre ingredients with complementary and synergistic behaviours to deliver higher quality and healthier breads.

The Knowledge Transfer Partnership is supported by UK Research and Innovation funding body, Innovate UK.  Dr Liam Morris has been appointed as the KTP Associate to work alongside Professor Campbell and his team.

Headquartered in Belgium, Puratos' core business is the design and supply of bakery ingredients, formulated from functional components selected, blended and processed to deliver the desired quality. The firm’s UK base is in Buckingham and its products are available in over 100 countries.

KTPs are government-funded programmes aimed at helping UK businesses improve competitiveness, production and performance, match-funded through Innovate UK. The programme involves a collaboration between an organisation, a university and a graduate associate who is funded for the duration of the project.

The University of Huddersfield currently has a portfolio of around 25 KTPs attracting a total of almost £6 million in funding.

To find out more about KTP awards at the University of Huddersfield, please visit research.hud.ac.uk/business/knowledge or email ktp@hud.ac.uk.