Processed

Fungal Alpha-Amylase

S tier

Fungal alpha-amylase, usually from Aspergillus oryzae, nicks interior starch bonds at the modest temperatures of a proofing dough. Bakers add a pinch so damaged starch feeds the yeast without turning the crumb into paste. It is inactivated in the oven well below the temperatures that bacterial amylases survive, which is why it is the safe default in bread improvers and home "dough conditioner" blends. A lively lot smells faintly cereal, not musty, and a falling-number or Brabender check shows it shortens starch paste without liquefying it. Too much fungal amylase makes a sticky, gummy crumb that tears on the slicer. Brewers sometimes use it in unmalted adjuncts, but malt and bacterial grades own the mash tun.