1. Baking a Clean Label A guide on going clean Lin Carson, PhD
CEO | Founder

2. What is a clean label? 1
The clean label trend is a growing one, driven by consumers who are focused on:
Healthy food
Natural food and processing
A simple ingredient list
For bakers, it means finding natural or organic substitutes for many ingredients and additives. 01

3. 2 Can you tell me what exactly is “Clean Label?”
No one is definitive of clean label because there is no FDA definition for it.
It can mean different things to different people. However, a few standard guidelines are:
Ingredients frequently found in your kitchen cupboard
Ingredients that are “all natural” and contain no chemicals, no artificial preservatives, color agents, or flavor agents
Minimally-processed ingredients
Ingredients that are easy to understand 02

4. 3 What Not to Use for Clean Label ADA Potassium lodate
Bromate
What Not to Use for Clean Label 3
ADA
Potassium lodate
Calcium peroxide
Benzyl peroxide (flour bleaching agent)
Emulsifiers (DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate,
Bromate 03

5. 4 What Not to Use for Clean Label
Calcium stearoyl lactylate, ethoxylated mono- and di-glycerides, PGME, polysorbate, mono- and di-glycerol, etc.)
Calcium propionate
Sorbic acid
Artificial flavor and color agents
Partially hydrogenated oil
High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
Chlorinated Wheat Flour 04

6. Good and Bad News 5
The Bad News
The public still has expectations for what products look and taste like
Chemcials allow us to bake consistent, safe, quality products
Most natural and clean label ingredients add more cost
The Good News
There are plenty of resourceful substitutes that fill in just fine
Naturally leavened and chemically leavened systems can work with clean label ingredients 05

7. 6 1 2 Need Help with Alternatives? Try Natural Mold Inhibitors!
There are two kinds of natural mold inhibitors: 1
Ones that reduces dough pH.
Clean label alternatives: vinegar, prune juice concentrate, raisin paste concentrate, cultured whey products, cultured wheat or corn syrup products.
Ones that disrupt cellular membrane and cellular processes.
Clean label alternatives: cinnamon, clove and natamycin. 2 06

8. 7 Need Help with Alternatives? Try Gums!
Gum can enhance the properties of native starches, strengthening the dough.
The addition of non-gelling starches and xanthan gum increases physical stability for freezing and better structural recovery after shear.
Gums can decrease fat content in bakery products. Flax seeds provides a natural substitute for sugar and xanthan gums, to successfully replace up to 30% of the fat in sponge cake. 07

9. 8 Need Help with Alternatives? Try Enzymes!
Enzymes can be used to enhance the quality of high fiber baking products, often used to enrich wheat flour.
Carbohydrase, like hemicellulase or xylanase, can be used to degrade the fortified polysaccharides and decrease negative effect on quality.
Lipases can be used to enhance emulsifying qualities in the dough.
Proteases can be used to reduce mixing time and improve extensibility.
Oxidases can be used to improve dough machinability. 08

10. 9 Non-ingredient alternatives
Other physical methods that will reduce or eliminate emulsifiers & oxidizing agents:
Aged flour
Flour Quality
Sourdough
Longer fermentation (sponge and dough techniques)
Cooler doughs
Packaging technology 09

11. 10 The Future Lies in Your Process
By making a sponge, or including a brew process, you naturally hydrate your dough to make it easier to machine.
Thermal profiling with a longer bake would help dry out the baked product and reduce mold issues.
An easy-to-sanitize cooling system, together with an efficient air filtration system would also reduce your dependence on mold inhibitors. 10

12. This is overwhelming, where do I start? 11 NEED HELP? THE KEY
is to understand the function of ingredients you are substituting. Keep things simple, and know it’s getting easier to find a label friendly alternative.
Learn more about clean label baking.
NEED HELP?
If you’d like advice on going clean, or help adjusting your product, contact BAKERpedia’s technical services team! 11

13. Find all your baking answers on
BAKERpedia.com