The Crispness Code of Biscuits and Shortened Products: How GMS and SSL Regulate Fat Distribution and Gluten Restriction?

The soul of biscuits and shortened products lies in the crisp fracture sound and the crumbly sensation that follows with each bite. This texture, known as "shortness," does not form by accident-it is the result of a delicate interplay among fat, moisture, sugar, and gluten proteins.

On this microscopic battlefield, GMS (Glycerol Monostearate) and SSL (Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate) are two core commanders. By regulating fat distribution within the dough and restricting excessive gluten network formation, they ultimately determine whether a biscuit is "crisp and crumbly" or "tough and chewy."

To understand the roles of GMS and SSL, we must first grasp the textural formation principles of shortened products.

1 Gluten - The "Enemy" of Biscuit Texture

In bread making, we want gluten to fully develop for elasticity and gas retention. But in biscuits and shortened products, gluten is precisely the culprit that causes "hardness." Overdeveloped gluten networks make biscuits tough and lacking in crumbly sensation.

Therefore, one of the core strategies in biscuit formulation is limiting gluten formation and development. This is primarily achieved through:

• Fat's "coating" effect: During dough mixing, fat adsorbs onto the surface of gluten protein molecules, forming an impermeable film that prevents water from penetrating into the proteins, thereby inhibiting full gluten swelling and development.
• Sugar's "competitive water absorption": Sugar competes with gluten proteins for water during dissolution, creating a dewatering effect that further limits gluten formation.
• Controlled water addition and mixing intensity: Shortened doughs typically use less water and shorter mixing times to avoid excessive gluten development.

2 How Do GMS and SSL Intervene in This Process?

As emulsifiers, GMS and SSL play key roles in both "gluten restriction" and "fat regulation":

1. Direct gluten restriction: Studies show that adding GMS or SSL significantly reduces the elastic recovery value of dough, directly indicating their "shortening" effect on the gluten network. That is, emulsifiers themselves possess the ability to limit excessive gluten development.
2. Promoting uniform fat distribution: One of the core functions of emulsifiers is to help fats disperse more evenly throughout the dough. The more uniformly fat disperses, the more thoroughly it coats gluten proteins, and the more pronounced the gluten-restricting effect. Simultaneously, evenly distributed fat ensures consistent finished product texture, avoiding localized hardness or greasiness.

GMS (Glycerol Monostearate) in biscuits follows a unique pathway-oleogelation.

1 Oleogelation: The Technology That "Sets" Fat

Recent research shows that oleogels prepared with GMS as a gelator can effectively improve the physical properties of fats. After adding GMS to cottonseed oil stearin, the solid fat content of the oleogel increased, β-type crystals increased significantly, the crystal network became denser, and both viscoelasticity and thermal stability improved.

2 Direct Contributions to Biscuit Quality

When this GMS-based oleogel is applied to biscuit production, the following effects were observed:

• Effective restriction of gluten network formation, resulting in a crispier biscuit texture
• Improved dough aeration capacity, beneficial for biscuit expansion during baking
• Modified biscuit spread and color, limiting non-enzymatic browning reactions

Notably, when biscuits made with 6% monoglyceride oleogel showed similar quality to commercial shortening biscuits, this indicated that GMS can serve as an effective shortening replacement solution.

3 Economic Value of Reduced Fat Usage

At the product application level, distilled monoglycerides (a high-purity form of GMS) are clearly documented to reduce biscuit oil usage by approximately 20%, while also facilitating easier mixing of fat with flour, shortening mixing time, improving texture, preventing fat exudation, ultimately resulting in crisper mouthfeel and extended shelf life. This carries dual significance for cost control and product quality improvement.

SSL's application logic in biscuits differs from GMS-it emphasizes overall functional balance.

1 Gluten "Regulator" Rather Than "Destroyer"

Unlike GMS which simply restricts gluten, SSL plays a more complex role in gluten management. On one hand, it restricts excessive gluten formation, preventing biscuit shrinkage and deformation; on the other hand, it improves gluten uniformity, preventing surface blistering and reducing edge waste and scrap.

This dual capability of "restriction + optimization" gives SSL a distinct advantage in production scenarios requiring fine dough quality control.

2 Fat Distribution "Homogenizer"

Another core function of SSL in biscuits is making moisture and fat distribution more uniform throughout the dough. Uniform fat distribution means:

• Gluten proteins are more thoroughly coated, resulting in more consistent shortening effects
• Avoidance of localized fat aggregation leading to oil spots or uneven texture
• Maintenance of good crispness even with reduced fat usage

3 Comparative Data: GMS vs. SSL Effect Differences

Comparative studies on shortened biscuits provide direct quantitative evidence. In wheat germ shortened biscuit formulations, researchers tested both GMS and SSL and found:

• Both GMS and SSL improve biscuit quality, but SSL showed more significant effects
• Optimal addition level for GMS was 0.4%, and for SSL was 0.5% (based on flour weight)

Another study on biscuit dough rheological properties also showed that both GMS and SSL reduced the elastic recovery value of dough, indicating their "shortening" effect on gluten. However, SSL produced the greatest magnitude of change, suggesting SSL is the most prominent among similar emulsifiers in gluten restriction.

However, the same study also noted that in overall biscuit quality improvement (including surface characteristics and crispness), GMS and lecithin outperformed SSL. This indicates that GMS has unique advantages in the "texture optimization" dimension, while SSL is stronger in the "dough regulation" dimension.

Selection Recommendations

1. Prioritize GMS: When your product's core demand is "crispness" and you wish to explore reducing fat usage, GMS offers a more direct pathway. Its oleogelation properties also have unique value in shortening replacement.
2. Prioritize SSL: When you need more comprehensive dough management-restricting gluten while improving surface quality and reducing scrap-SSL's dual-track regulation capabilities provide greater advantages.
3. Consider Compounding: In certain products, compounding GMS and SSL can leverage the advantages of both. GMS handles the pursuit of "crispy texture," while SSL ensures "dough workability."

The "crispness code" of biscuits and shortened products is essentially a delicate contest between fat and gluten. GMS, through oleogelation and direct gluten restriction, embeds the gene of "crispness" into the product. SSL, through dual-track "restriction + optimization" regulation, makes fat distribution more uniform and gluten status more controllable.

Understanding the differences between these two pathways enables formulators to make more precise choices based on specific product requirements-whether pursuing ultimate crispy texture or stable large-scale production. This is the formulation evolution from "instinct-based" to "science-based" practice.