Soft, gluten-free cake doughnuts with 45% less oil absorption

Gluten-free cake doughnuts are considered one of the most challenging bakery products to manufacture. They are often greasy with a dry texture and dense crumb resulting in low consumer acceptability. The reason for these adverse properties is the lower viscoelasticity and water-binding ability of gluten-free flours, which results in reduced gas retention, rapid moisture loss during frying and greater ingress of oil to replace the lost water.

Fat reduction strategies often include decreasing the water content or increasing protein levels, but this makes the batter thicker and more difficult to deposit during production, and results in an internal crumb that is even harder and drier, compounding the existing quality issues. Another solution some bakers use is to apply a hydrocolloid coating before frying to decrease surface hydrophobicity and create a protective film, though this additional step adds significant cost and time expense to the manufacturing process.

Kudos Blends has recently announced the launch of a new range of gluten-free leavening systems, ZEUS™ GF, which offer highly functional added benefits including crumb softening, viscosity control, increased water binding and the ability to extend shelf life.

Trials were conducted in our on-site bakery comparing gluten-free cake doughnuts made using ZEUS™ GF to two controls: a gluten-free cake doughnut made with standard gluten-free baking powder, and a wheat-based cake doughnut made with standard baking powder. All doughnuts were assessed for organoleptic quality using an in-house panel of sensory analysts, with texture characteristics corroborated using a texture analyser. Gluten-free doughnuts were also sent for fat content analysis at an accredited external laboratory.

Gluten-free doughnuts made using ZEUS™ GF were softer and moister in texture than both the standard gluten-free doughnuts and the wheat-based doughnuts. The crumb was also brighter and the crust smoother than both controls. Results of the fat content analysis showed they absorbed 45% less oil than standard doughnuts.