On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 02:57:59 +0000, Jean-Scott wrote:

> wesley > wrote in
> news >
>> On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 23:09:14 +0000, Jean-Scott wrote:
>>
>>> I have software that does nutritional analysis. However, I believe it
>>> is taking the carbohydrates at face value. It does not take into
>>> consideration that the yeast in a recipe will reduce the total carbs.
>>> Is there a formula that I can apply to my calculations that will
>>> reflect this offset?
>>>
>>> Any input would be helpful.
>>> Jean-Scott
>>
>> In baking (such as bread baking) the amount of carbs used by the yeast
>> is going to be very small - insignificant in my opinion.
>>
>> Only in things like wine and beer making are a significant level of
>> carbs converted. In wine, most of the fermentable carbs are already
>> sugars. In beer making, the barley is sprouted, then the wort cooked to
>> convert and extract some measure of the complex carbs to simpler sugars
>> via enzyme action. No such large scale conversion to sugar takes place
>> in yeast baking, and the amount of sugar added to most bread recipes is
>> only a small portion of the total carb count.
>>
>>
>>
> This is a good point... but...
> If I am producing a low carb bread, and it uses all low or "no" carb
> ingredients, vital wheat gluten and high protein substitute, then I add
> in enough sugar so as to feed the yeast, then it IS a significant amount
> of the carbs. And if it accounts for more than 50% of the total carbs,
> and it is used by the yeast reducing it by 25% then my carbs may go down
> 10% in the total batch. Which is ALOT to all my carb counting minions
> that want as low a carbed up bread as they can get.... and still be
> palatable.
>
> Jean-Scott
>
> So I still ask... What % of the carbs in the sugar are transformed in
> the fermentation process.

The only way you'll get an accurate read for your purposes is to send
samples of the product to a food lab for analysis.

However, breads do not require a lot of sugar for fermentation (many
traditional recipes call for no added sugar and simply use what is
available from the flour.)

Say your only source of carb in your bread is the added sugar for
fermentation. If you added 2 tablespoons sugar for a 1 1/2 lb. loaf,
that'd be about 24 grams of carb for the whole loaf or about 1.2 grams per
slice (20 slices.) So the difference between using 25% and 50% of the
sugar for fermentation is only 0.3 grams carb.

Keep in mind that if you are listing nutrition info in accordance with FDA
nutrition labeling requirements as a food manufacturer, you must have the
lab analysis. Calculating nutrition info from ingredient nutrition info is
a no-no unless you have a special exemption.