TREHA® trehalose is a useful baking ingredient when you want to control sweetness without simply removing sugar solids from a recipe.

For most cakes and biscuits, the easiest place to start is:

replace around 20% of the ordinary sugar with TREHA®.

But different baked products need different approaches.

Bread is normally calculated against flour weight. Meringues can use much higher levels of TREHA®. Puff pastry and choux need only relatively small functional additions.

This guide gives practical starting ratios for the main baking applications.

TREHA® Baking Ratios at a Glance

These are starting points rather than limits.[1]

For a wider reference covering more food applications, see How Much Trehalose Should I Use? →.

The Simplest Rule: Start with 20% Sugar Replacement

For an ordinary cake, biscuit or sweet bake:

replace 20% of the sucrose by weight with TREHA®

So:

100g sugar becomes:

80g sugar + 20g TREHA®

And:

200g sugar becomes:

160g sugar + 40g TREHA®.

Make sure that you subtract the same quantity from the sucrose to keep the total weight of sugar solids the same.

Because TREHA® is only about 40% as sweet as sucrose, the finished product will taste less sweet while still retaining carbohydrate solids in the formulation.[1]

Cakes

For most conventional cakes:

start with 20% sugar replacement.

This is enough to produce a noticeable reduction in sweetness without dramatically redesigning the formulation.

Example

If your cake contains:

200g sugar

use:

160g sucrose + 40g TREHA®.

Keep the rest of the recipe unchanged for the first trial.

What to compare

Look at:

• sweetness
• crumb softness
• moisture
• volume
• browning
• flavour
• texture after 24–72 hours.

TREHA® can be particularly useful where you want the cake to remain softer during storage.

Pound and Loaf Cakes

For pound cake and similar loaf cakes:

start around 15–20% sugar replacement.[1]

For a recipe containing 250g sugar:

15% replacement:

212.5g sucrose + 37.5g TREHA®

20% replacement:

200g sucrose + 50g TREHA®.

In practice, round to convenient kitchen quantities.

For example:

200g sugar + 50g TREHA®.

Use the lower end if the recipe depends heavily on conventional sugar for browning or structure.

Sponge and Genoise

For sponge and genoise:

start around 20–30% sugar replacement.

For 180g sugar, a 25% trial gives:

135g sucrose + 45g TREHA®.

This is a useful range where you want:

• lower sweetness
• a soft crumb
• clearer vanilla, citrus or fruit flavour
• good eating quality after storage.

Do not jump immediately to very high replacement because sucrose contributes to aeration and structure as well as sweetness.

Chocolate Cake and Brownies

Chocolate is one of the easiest flavours to pair with TREHA®.

Reducing sucrose allows cocoa and chocolate flavour to become more prominent.

For chocolate cakes:

start around 20–25%.

For a recipe containing 250g sugar:

25% replacement gives:

187.5g sucrose + 62.5g TREHA®.

Round that conveniently to:

190g sugar + 60g TREHA®.

For very rich brownies, start lower — around 10–20% — because texture may matter more than reducing sweetness.

Chiffon Cake

For chiffon cake, recent research found strong overall results around 20–30% sucrose replacement.[2]

Start at:

25–30%.

If your recipe separates the sugar between the yolk batter and meringue, keep the total replacement controlled rather than automatically replacing a very high proportion of both components at once.

For a first trial, 25% across the complete sugar system is a sensible approach.

Cheesecake

For cheesecake:

start around 20–30% sugar replacement.

Higher levels can be explored if the cheesecake is deliberately intended to taste less sweet.

TREHA® can be particularly useful where you want:

• stronger cream-cheese flavour
• clearer vanilla
• more prominent citrus
• less cloying sweetness.

Keep the base recipe unchanged initially and judge the cheesecake after full chilling.

Cookies and Biscuits

For cookies and sablé:

start with 20–30% sugar replacement.[1]

Example:

200g sugar at 30% replacement becomes:

140g sucrose + 60g TREHA®.

TREHA® can be particularly useful in crisp biscuits because it can help maintain a stable crisp structure during storage.[3]

What to compare

Check:

• spread
• crispness
• sweetness
• colour
• texture after 24–72 hours
• humidity resistance.

If deep browning is important, stay towards the lower end initially.

Meringue

Meringue is one of the applications where you can use substantially more TREHA®.

For Italian meringue:

start around 30–50% sugar replacement.[1]

Example:

200g sugar becomes:

100–140g sucrose + 60–100g TREHA®.

TREHA® can help reduce excessive sweetness while retaining substantial sugar solids within the foam system.

For detailed meringue, pastry and confectionery guidance, see How to Use Trehalose in Pastry, Confectionery & Meringue →.

Dry Meringue

Dry meringue can use much higher proportions.

Start around:

70–80% of the sugar system as TREHA®.

Specialist professional formulations may use even more.[1]

For 200g total sugar:

75% TREHA® gives:

50g sucrose + 150g TREHA®.

This can be particularly useful where you want:

• low sweetness
• a dry crisp texture
• improved humidity resistance
• stronger fruit or aromatic flavours.

Do not use this very high ratio as a guide for normal cake batter.

Puff Pastry

Puff pastry should not be calculated as a percentage of sugar.

Instead, add TREHA® at around:

2% of the détrempe weight.[1]

For example:

1kg base dough → around 20g TREHA®.

Do not include the roll-in butter when making the calculation.

Method

Add TREHA® during mixing of the base dough.

What to compare

Look at:

• lamination
• layer definition
• crispness
• texture several hours after baking
• resistance to moisture from fillings.

TREHA® is being used here mainly as a functional ingredient, not a sweetener.

Choux Pastry

For choux:

start around 2–3% of the complete formulation.[1]

For a 1kg batch:

20–30g TREHA®.

Method

Dissolve the TREHA® into the liquid phase before adding the flour.

Then prepare the choux normally.

What to assess

Compare:

• shell formation
• internal cavity
• moisture
• crispness
• texture after filling
• quality after refrigeration.

This is particularly useful for éclairs, profiteroles and filled choux that will not be eaten immediately.

Bread Uses a Different Rule

Do not use the 20% sugar-replacement rule for ordinary bread.

TREHA® is better calculated against flour weight.

For a standard wheat loaf:

start around 4% TREHA® relative to flour weight.[4,5]

So:

500g flour → 20g TREHA®.

Keep any ordinary fermentable sugar already present in the recipe for your first trial.

For example:

• 500g flour
• 325g water
• 10g salt
• 7g yeast
• 15g sugar
• 20g TREHA®.

Do not simply replace the 15g sugar with TREHA®.

For detailed bread guidance, see How to Use Trehalose in Bread →.

For the yeast explanation, see Can Yeast Ferment Trehalose? →.

Brioche and Enriched Bread

For brioche:

start around 5% TREHA® relative to flour.[1]

For 500g flour:

25g TREHA®.

Keep the normal sugar in the first batch.

This lets you assess the effect of TREHA® on:

• softness
• moisture
• sweetness
• butter and egg flavour
• storage quality.

If required, increase gradually in later trials.

Croissant Dough

For croissants:

start around 5% of flour weight.[1]

For 500g flour:

25g TREHA®.

Again, keep the normal sugar in the first formulation.

TREHA® is particularly worth trialling where croissants will be:

• frozen
• baked from frozen dough
• stored before service
• held for several hours after baking.

Does TREHA® Make Baked Goods Paler?

It can.

As the proportion of TREHA® increases, cakes, biscuits and bread may become lighter in colour.[4]

This can be useful where you want:

• pale sponge
• white sandwich bread
• delicate pastry
• cleaner fruit colours.

It may be less desirable where a dark crust or deep caramelised appearance is important.

If your product becomes too pale, reduce the TREHA® level rather than assuming the baking time alone needs changing.

How to Add TREHA®

In most batters and doughs, TREHA® can simply be incorporated with the other sugars or dry ingredients.

For wet mixtures:

add it with the sugar or dissolve it in the liquid phase.

For bread:

add it with the dry ingredients.

For meringue and concentrated syrups:

make sure it dissolves fully.

TREHA® is less soluble than sucrose at high concentrations, so complete dissolution becomes increasingly important in highly concentrated formulations.

How to Run a Good Baking Trial

The best way to understand TREHA® is to compare controlled batches.

Make:

1. your normal recipe
2. the same recipe with TREHA®.

Change only the sugar system.

Then compare:

Immediately after baking

• sweetness
• colour
• rise
• volume
• crumb
• crispness
• flavour.

After 24 Hours

• softness
• moisture
• crispness
• flavour
• stickiness.

After 48–72 Hours

• firming
• drying
• loss of crispness
• flavour quality
• overall eating quality.

Many of TREHA®'s most useful effects become more apparent during storage rather than immediately after baking.

For the wider freshness evidence, see How Trehalose Helps Food Stay Fresh for Longer →.

When Should You Use More TREHA®?

Increase gradually when you want:

• less sweetness
• stronger chocolate or fruit flavour
• softer stored cake
• greater biscuit crispness
• lower-sweetness meringue
• better frozen performance.

Use controlled steps such as:

20% → 25% → 30%.

Do not assume complete replacement will produce the best result.

When Should You Use Less?

Reduce TREHA® if:

• the product is not sweet enough
• browning becomes too weak
• cake structure changes too much
• biscuits become too pale
• crystallisation becomes noticeable
• dough handling deteriorates.

TREHA® is a formulation tool.

The objective is to use enough to produce the effect you want, not as much as possible.

Four Ratios Worth Remembering

If you want the shortest possible baking guide:

For puff pastry:

2% of the base dough.

For choux:

2–3% of the total mixture.

Those figures cover most first-time baking experiments.

TREHA® Is Not Just a Less-Sweet Sugar

The practical mistake to avoid is using TREHA® only to chase lower sweetness.

Its usefulness in baking also comes from effects on:

• moisture
• softness
• starch firming
• crispness
• foam behaviour
• frozen storage
• flavour balance.[1,3–5]

That is why professional formulations can use anything from 2% TREHA® in puff pastry to very high proportions in dry meringue.

The right question is:

What do you want TREHA® to do in your bake?

Buy TREHA® for Baking

Trehalose UK supplies genuine Japanese TREHA® manufactured by Nagase Viita Co., Ltd., formerly Hayashibara.

For home baking and recipe development:

TREHA® Trehalose 1kg →

For frequent bakers and professional kitchens:

TREHA® Trehalose 2.5kg →

For bakeries and commercial food production:

TREHA® Trehalose 20kg →

For commercial requirements of 200kg or more:

Bulk TREHA® Supply — 200kg to 1 Tonne+ →

For application or commercial enquiries:

Contact Trehalose UK →

sales@trehalose.co.uk

Further Reading

How Much Trehalose Should I Use? →

How to Use Trehalose in Bread →

How to Use Trehalose in Pastry, Confectionery & Meringue →

How to Use Trehalose to Keep Food Fresher for Longer →

Trehalose vs Sugar: What's the Difference? →

Trehalose for Food →

References & Further Reading

[1] Nagase Food Ingredients. Professional TREHA® application guidance covering cakes, confectionery, meringues, bread, pastry and other bakery products.

NAGASE TREHA® food applications →

[2] Yang Fu et al. 2026. “Physicochemical and Anti-Staling Properties of Chiffon Cake with Trehalose as Clean Label for Sucrose Substitution.” Food Chemistry 525: 150475. Study examining different trehalose substitution levels in chiffon cake.

View the Food Chemistry study →

[3] Research examining sucrose- and trehalose-containing cookies, including their physical state, softening behaviour and ability to remain crisp under different moisture conditions.

Search the cookie research →

[4] Young-Ja Kim, Jeong-Hoon Lee, Koo-Chun Chung, and Si-Kyung Lee. 2014. “Effects of Trehalose on Quality Characteristics of White Pan Bread.” Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 43, no. 5: 712–719. DOI: 10.3746/jkfn.2014.43.5.712.

Read the study →

[5] Bo Peng, Youqian Li, Shiyong Ding, and Jun Yang. 2017. “Characterization of Textural, Rheological, Thermal, Microstructural, and Water Mobility in Wheat Flour Dough and Bread Affected by Trehalose.” Food Chemistry 233: 369–377. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.04.108.

Read the study →