Water – Critical Ingredient
•  Water plays an essential role in bakery production.
–  Provides necessary medium for physical, chemical and
biological reactions required for the transformation of raw
materials into finished baked products.
Water Chemistry:
How is Your Water Affecting
Fermentation?
•  Water provides optimum medium for yeast activity.
–  Yeast ferments best in a liquid medium.
•  Primary method of dough temperature control
–  Chilled water helps keep finished dough temperatures within
acceptable range.
Presenter: David Webster
•  Water represents nearly 40% of the total dough weight.
–  Relatively minor amounts of active ingredients dissolved in
water can have a measurable effect on dough characteristics
and finished product quality.
Attributes that Affect Yeast
Activity
Water Hardness
•  Water Hardness
–  Expressed in ppm of Calcium and/or
Magnesium ions
•  pH
–  The strength of acid present
•  Alkalinity
–  The amount of Calcium Carbonate present in
the water
Water Hardness – Effect on Dough
WATER TYPE
EFFECT ON DOUGH
TREATMENT
Soft Water:
0 – 80 ppm
Excess absorption softens
gluten, sticky dough, excess
pan flow, fast fermentation
Addition of mineral salts;
Calcium or ammonium sulfate,
mineral type yeast food.
Med. Hard Water:
80 – 120 ppm
Allows for proper absorption
and gluten development, soft
extensible dough, dry and
pliable to touch.
None necessary
Hard Water:
120 – 180 ppm
Underdeveloped dough
characteristics, tight, stiff,
bucky, slow fermentation.
Addition of acid salts; MCP,
acetic or lactic acid, acid type
yeast food.
High Alkaline Water:
180+ ppm
Underdeveloped dough
characteristics, tight, stiff,
bucky, retarded fermentation.
Addition of acid salts; MCP,
acetic or lactic acid, acid type
yeast food.
•  The amount and type of mineral salts present in a bakery’s
water supply indicates the general classification of the water.
–  Hard, soft, acid (saline) or alkaline.
•  The degree of hardness is expressed in parts per million
(ppm) of dissolved hardness-causing minerals.
–  Typically calcium and magnesium salts.
•  The following classifications of water hardness are used the
baking industry:
–  0 - 20 ppm
Very soft water
–  20 - 80 ppm
Soft water
–  80 - 120 ppm
Medium hard water
–  120 - 180 ppm Hard Water
–  180 + ppm
Very hard water
pH
•  In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or
basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is
said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0
Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be
acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are
basic or alkaline.
•  pH drops as fermentation time increases.
•  Optimum range for yeast fermentation is between
4.5 and 6.0
•  Yeast pH insignificant
–  Yeast pH doesn't affect the pH of fermentation
•  Buffers – minerals that inhibit acidity
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Water pH
•  The pH value of water is expressed as a
number between zero and fourteen.
І------------------------І-------------------------------І
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Acid
Neutral
Alkaline
• 
• 
• 
• 
pH 7 is considered neutral
Acidic Water = below pH 7.
Average Water = pH 7 - 8.
Alkaline Water = pH 8 and above.
Effects of Water Conditions
•  Water is a basic ingredient in bread
baking.
•  Medium Hard water produces better
quality bread than any type of water.
•  Soft water weakens the gluten during
mixing and fermentation.
•  Alkaline water is the most harmful,
because it doesn't only weaken the
gluten, but retards fermentation.
Yeast Foods
•  Yeast Foods are compound ingredients typically containing:
–  A water conditioner
•  Calcium and Magnesium salts provide mineral content control
•  Monocalcium Phosphate provides acid for pH control
–  A yeast conditioner
•  Ammonium salts provide a nitrogen source for yeast.
–  A dough conditioner
•  Oxidants
•  Bakers must understand water source and mineral content
classification in order to make appropriate decisions about yeast
food requirements.
•  Yeast Food’s primary purpose is to correct minor water
problems, and to help to control fermentation rate.
Alkalinity of Water
•  Whereas alkaline water refers to water
above a pH of 7, the alkalinity of water
refers to the amount of Calium Carbonate
present in the water.
•  Calcium Carbonate is used to raise the
pH of the water so that it is not acidic
(above 7 pH).
•  Calcium Carbonate neutralizes acid.
Correcting for Water Conditions
•  Special types of mineral yeast food have
been developed to correct this problem.
•  While medium hard water is ideal, too
much mineral content can lead to alkaline
conditions in the water raising the pH to
undesirable levels.
•  The optimal pH range for yeast and
enzyme activity is below 7 (preferably
between 4 – 6 for yeast, 5 – 7 for
enzymes).
Fermentation Targets
•  Fermentation can be evaluated by
tracking pH and TTA.
•  Tracking allows for a clearer picture of
what is happening during fermentation.
•  Industry Standards for finished
fermentation of a solid sponge are:
–  pH of 4.8 – 5.0
–  TTA of 4.5 – 4.8
–  2 degree F rise in temperature per hour
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Ideal Fermentation Mapping
Rapid Fermentation Mapping
Slow Fermentation Mapping
Discussion
Topics
Alternative Methods?
•  Water treatment options
–  Water softening system
–  Filtration
–  Reverse osmosis
•  What do other industries do?
–  Brewing Industry?
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