“Does Citri-Fi’s acidity set off the baking soda too early in bakery products?”

In the baking world, leavening systems can be key in creating quality crumb, loaf volume, and desirable organoleptic properties. Leavening systems, both chemical and biological, can be impacted by other ingredients in the formulation which can be detrimental to the overall product quality. In this case, the Fiberstar team was tasked to answer the question “Does Citri-Fi’s acidity set off the baking soda too early in bakery products?”

A fully dried sample of Citri-Fi 100 and the method “Neutralizing Value of Acid Reacting Materials” AACC International Method 02-32.02 were used to determine the neutralizing value of Citri-Fi.

The results indicated that Citri-Fi has a neutralizing value of 2.0 and was very slow to react. Thus we conclude that Citri-Fi does not have sufficient strength in its acidity to set off the baking soda too early in baked good production. Compared to other sources of acid listed in the table of common neutralizing values below (Finnie and Atwell; Wheat Flour Handbook; 2016), Citri-Fi’s score of 2.0 is nearly negligible.

For more information, please contact R&D at techsupport@fiberstar.net

Common Acidulant (Neutralizing Value) 

Cream of Tartar (45)

Monocalcium Phosphate Monohydrate (80)

Anhydrous Monocalcium Phosphate (83.5)

Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (72)

Sodium Aluminum Pyrophosphate (100)

Sodium Aluminum Sulfate (100)

Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate (33)

— Author: Dr. Kurt Villwock (Ph.D.)