Roquette is expanding its gluten-free bakery ingredients portfolio with Wellence GF 1229, a cellulosic hydrocolloid for bakers that makes dough easier to handle while producing fuller, taller loaves. It is designed to address common gluten-free bread challenges, including weak handling, low lift, uneven crumb, and rapid loss of softness.
In baking trials, bread made with the ingredient achieved 23% greater volume than a market benchmark. Loaves also stayed softer, with about 50% less instrumental hardness after 21 days. The ingredient can be used in bread rolls or pizza dough. It will be showcased at Food Ingredients Europe in Frankfurt, Germany, in November 2026.
A low recommended usage level and label continuity for like-for-like substitutions reduce the cost and friction of updating gluten-free recipes for bakery manufacturers. These practical savings shift texture improvement from an R&D project to a simpler ingredient swap within established baking lines.
Image Credit: The Plant Base
What's Driving This Trend
- Texture-optimized Gluten-free
- Ingredient systems that improve lift, crumb consistency, and softness are reshaping gluten-free products from compromise-based alternatives into mainstream-quality bakery options.
- Low-friction Reformulation
- Label-continuity and low-use ingredients create room for manufacturers to upgrade product performance without major operational, regulatory, or consumer-facing changes.
- Shelf-life Softness Engineering
- Longer-lasting softness in gluten-free bread highlights growing demand for functional ingredients that reduce waste while improving repeat purchase potential.
Who This Affects Most
- Bakery Ingredients
- Specialized hydrocolloids and functional blends are expanding supplier value by solving production and sensory challenges in high-growth free-from categories.
- Gluten-free Foods
- Performance-focused formulations are narrowing the gap between gluten-free and conventional baked goods, opening opportunities for broader consumer adoption.
- Food Manufacturing
- Simpler ingredient swaps that work within existing production lines are making premium product improvements more accessible to large-scale manufacturers.
