Doughs with moderate percentages of fat and sugar are called less rich confectionery yeast doughs. In the case of higher contents of fat and sugar, medium or rich confectionery yeast doughs are spoken of.
Table 10.1: Classification of confectionery yeast doughs according to the composition (cf. Schünemann et al. 2016)
In doughs containing fat and sugar, starch grains first begin to swell and gelatinize at higher temperatures. The degree of gelatinization falls with increasing percentages of fat and sugar. In amounts above 7 % in relation to flour, sugar reduces the swelling of the gluten, whereby the doughs become softer and moister. Over and above, the percentage of liquid in the dough is reduced and more demands are made of the gluten network.
Moreover, the lower percentage of liquid has an effect on the fermentation activity of the yeast. By increasing the osmotic pressure in the case of high amounts of sugar, a lower formation of gas of the yeast takes place.
The different percentages of fat and sugar increase the complexity of the total recipes in such a way that other quantities of ingredients, such as whole egg, yeast, salt, improver and liquid, have to be adjusted.
In the case of higher additions of fat and sugar, the mixing times and the bulk fermentation times have to be adjusted or processes with several stages used.