TREHA® trehalose can be particularly useful in bread, but it is used differently from cakes and confectionery.

For bread, the simplest rule is:

calculate TREHA® as a percentage of the flour weight.

For an ordinary wheat loaf, a very good first trial is:

4% TREHA® relative to flour weight.[1,2]

So:

500g flour → 20g TREHA®.

If your normal bread recipe already contains sugar, keep that sugar in the first trial and add the TREHA® separately.

TREHA® Bread Ratios at a Glance

These are starting points rather than fixed limits.

For a general guide to calculating TREHA® across other foods, see How Much Trehalose Should I Use? →.

The Basic Bread Calculation

For bread:

TREHA® required = flour weight × baker’s percentage

At the recommended 4% starting point:

This is usually much more useful than calculating TREHA® as a percentage of the sugar in the recipe.

A Simple 500g Flour Example

Suppose your normal loaf contains:

• 500g bread flour
• 325g water
• 10g salt
• 7g yeast
• 15g sugar.

For your first TREHA® trial, use:

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

Nothing else needs to change initially.

The 20g TREHA® represents:

4% of the flour weight.

Bake your normal loaf alongside the TREHA® version and compare the two.

Why Start at 4%?

Four per cent is an unusually useful starting point because it sits within manufacturer guidance and has also performed strongly in independent bread research.[1,2]

A study of white pan bread compared:

• 0% trehalose
• 2%
• 4%
• 6%

while keeping 6% sucrose in every formulation.[2]

The loaf containing 4% trehalose produced:

• the greatest loaf volume
• the greatest specific loaf volume
• the lowest crumb hardness through seven days of storage
• the highest overall sensory score.[2]

The 6% loaf retained more moisture and produced the lightest crumb, but 4% gave the strongest overall result.[2]

For an ordinary wheat loaf, 4% is therefore an excellent place to begin.

Keep the Normal Sugar in Your First Trial

Do not automatically replace the sugar in a bread recipe with TREHA®.

Commercial baker’s yeast does not use externally supplied trehalose as readily as conventional fermentable sugars.

That makes bread different from cakes and biscuits, where TREHA® is often used by replacing part of the sucrose.

For your first bread trial:

keep the normal sugar and add TREHA® according to flour weight.

So if your recipe contains:

500g flour + 15g sugar

use:

500g flour + 15g sugar + 20g TREHA®.

Once you know how the dough performs, you can experiment further if required.

For the full explanation, see Can Yeast Ferment Trehalose? What Bakers Need to Know →.

How to Add TREHA®

TREHA® is easy to incorporate into normal bread dough.

For most bread:

1. Weigh the TREHA® according to the flour weight.
2. Add it with the other dry ingredients.
3. Mix and knead using your normal method.
4. Observe the dough rather than assuming proofing times will remain identical.
5. Bake normally.
6. Compare the finished bread with your standard recipe.

There is usually no need to dissolve TREHA® separately.

What Should You Look for?

Do not judge the TREHA® loaf only when it comes out of the oven.

Some of the most useful differences become apparent during storage.

On Baking Day

Compare:

• dough handling
• proofing
• oven spring
• loaf volume
• crust colour
• crumb structure
• softness
• flavour.

After 2–3 Days

Compare:

• crumb softness
• perceived dryness
• chewiness
• moisture
• flavour.

After 5–7 Days

Where appropriate for the product and storage method, compare:

• firming
• dryness
• crumb texture
• overall eating quality.

Research shows that trehalose can reduce bread firming and restrict water movement during storage.[2,3]

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

Standard White Bread

For ordinary white or wheat bread:

start at 4% TREHA® relative to flour.

For 500g flour:

20g TREHA®.

For 1kg flour:

40g TREHA®.

NAGASE gives a broader working range of approximately 2–5% for white bread.[1]

If 4% produces the result you want, there is no need to increase it.

If you want to explore further, trial:

3% → 4% → 5%

rather than making a large jump.

Bread Intended to Stay Soft

Where the principal objective is maintaining softness during storage, 4% is again the logical first trial.

Research on wheat bread found that trehalose:

• reduced the rate of firming
• restricted water movement during storage
• increased water-holding capacity.[3]

This makes TREHA® particularly interesting for:

• sandwich bread
• rolls
• burger buns
• bread prepared a day ahead
• packaged bakery products
• breads intended for chilled use.

Compare softness after storage rather than relying only on the fresh loaf.

Brioche and Enriched Bread

For brioche and other enriched breads:

start around 5% of flour weight.[1]

So:

500g flour → 25g TREHA®.

Keep the normal sucrose in the first formulation.

TREHA® is particularly useful in enriched dough because these breads often contain significant amounts of:

• butter
• egg
• milk
• sugar.

Lower sweetness allows the butter, egg and dairy flavours to remain more prominent while TREHA® contributes to moisture and softness.

For the first batch, do not redesign the complete sugar system.

Simply add:

5% TREHA® relative to flour.

Then compare.

Sweet Bread

For sweet and highly enriched breads, manufacturer guidance extends above the ordinary white-bread range.[1]

A sensible progression is:

5% → 7.5% → 10%

if additional TREHA® is required.

Start at 5%.

Higher quantities may be useful where the priorities are:

• reduced sweetness
• softness
• moisture retention
• frozen-storage performance.

Because enriched doughs contain more sugar and fat, monitor fermentation and proofing carefully as the formulation changes.

Wholemeal Bread

For wholemeal bread:

start around 4–5% of flour weight.

For 500g wholemeal flour:

20–25g TREHA®.

Wholemeal dough already behaves differently from white dough because bran and other grain components influence hydration and gluten development.

There is therefore little reason to start at the higher end of the broader professional range.

Begin at 4% or 5%, make a control loaf and compare.

Croissants

For croissant dough:

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

For 500g flour:

25g TREHA®.

Add it to the détrempe during mixing.

TREHA® is particularly interesting in croissants because the product combines:

• yeast fermentation
• gluten development
• lamination
• butter
• crisp baked layers
• often frozen-dough storage.

NAGASE has demonstrated 5% TREHA® in croissant dough, including improved performance following frozen storage.[1]

For croissants that are frozen before baking, assess the TREHA® and control batches after the same period of frozen storage rather than simply comparing them fresh.

Frozen Dough

Frozen dough is more demanding than freezing finished bread.

During frozen storage, damage can affect:

• yeast viability
• gluten structure
• gas retention
• later fermentation
• final loaf volume.

Trehalose has recognised cryoprotective properties, and research has linked higher trehalose levels within baker’s yeast with greater resistance to freezing and improved stability in frozen dough.[4]

For practical use, the important point is:

TREHA® can support a frozen-dough formulation, but it does not replace good freezing, storage, thawing and proofing practice.

If frozen dough is your main application, trial:

• your normal formulation
• the same formulation with 5% TREHA® relative to flour.

Freeze both identically and compare them after the intended commercial storage period.

Sourdough

Sourdough needs a slightly different approach because it contains a more complex microbial community than bread made with commercial baker’s yeast alone.

For ordinary wheat sourdough, a sensible first trial is:

3–4% TREHA® relative to total flour weight.

For 500g total flour:

15–20g TREHA®.

Add it during normal dough mixing.

For your first experiment:

• keep the starter quantity unchanged
• keep the salt unchanged
• keep the hydration unchanged initially
• add 3–4% TREHA®
• observe fermentation rather than relying solely on your normal timings.

The 3–4% figure should be regarded as a practical starting point based on the successful wheat-bread range rather than a universal sourdough optimum.

Calculating TREHA® in Sourdough

Calculate against total flour, including flour contributed by the starter or levain if you normally formulate using total baker’s percentages.

For example:

450g flour in final dough

• 50g flour contained in levain
  = 500g total flour.

At 4% TREHA®:

500 × 0.04 = 20g TREHA®.

This keeps the calculation consistent with ordinary baker’s percentages.

Sourdough Starter Preservation Is Different

Do not confuse TREHA® in a loaf with trehalose used to preserve a sourdough culture.

Research into freeze-dried sourdough used much higher levels — 10% and 15% — with the 15% treatment providing the strongest protection of microorganisms, particularly lactic-acid bacteria.[5]

That does not mean you should add 15% TREHA® to an ordinary sourdough loaf.

It was a specialist preservation treatment used before freeze-drying a starter culture.[5]

For ordinary sourdough bread:

start around 3–4%.

Does TREHA® Affect Bread Colour?

It can.

Higher TREHA® levels can produce a paler loaf.

In the white-pan-bread study, the 6% trehalose loaf produced the lightest crumb.[2]

This can be useful for:

• soft white bread
• pale sandwich loaves
• light rolls
• breads where minimal browning is desirable.

It may be less desirable for:

• rustic bread
• deeply browned sourdough
• products where a dark crust is part of the intended character.

If your bread becomes too pale, reduce the TREHA® level or adjust the wider formulation and bake.

When Should You Increase the TREHA®?

Consider moving above your starting level if you want:

• greater softness during storage
• lower perceived sweetness in enriched bread
• more moisture retention
• a paler finished loaf
• additional frozen-dough functionality.

Increase in small steps.

For example:

4% → 5% → 6%.

Do not assume that more will automatically produce a better loaf.

The independent white-bread study is a good example: 6% retained more moisture, but 4% performed better overall.[2]

When Should You Reduce It?

Reduce TREHA® if:

• fermentation becomes less predictable
• dough handling deteriorates
• the loaf becomes too pale
• crust development is insufficient
• volume falls
• crumb texture moves away from the result you want.

TREHA® is a formulation tool.

The objective is to identify the amount that works best for the bread you are making, not to maximise the percentage.

The Four Bread Ratios Worth Remembering

If you want the shortest possible guide:

For sourdough:

start experimentally around 3–4%.

A Simple Testing Programme

If you want to optimise a commercial or professional bread recipe, use three controlled batches.

For a conventional wheat loaf:

Batch 1

No TREHA® — your existing recipe.

Batch 2

4% TREHA®.

Batch 3

5% TREHA®.

Keep every other ingredient and processing step as consistent as possible.

Record:

• mix time
• dough temperature
• proof time
• loaf volume
• crust colour
• crumb softness
• moisture
• sensory quality.

Then reassess after:

• 24 hours
• 48 hours
• 72 hours.

If longer shelf quality matters, continue the comparison.

This will tell you far more than changing several ingredients simultaneously.

The Key Rule

The simplest thing to remember is:

Cakes and biscuits: TREHA® is often calculated as a percentage of the sugar being replaced.

Bread: TREHA® is normally calculated as a percentage of flour.

For an ordinary wheat loaf:

start with 4% TREHA® relative to flour weight.[1,2]

Keep the existing fermentable sugar in the first trial.

Then adjust according to the bread and the result you want.

Buy TREHA® for Bread Making

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

For home baking, sourdough trials and recipe development:

TREHA® Trehalose 1kg →

For frequent bakers and professional kitchens:

TREHA® Trehalose 2.5kg →

For bakeries and commercial production:

TREHA® Trehalose 20kg →

For commercial requirements of 200kg or more:

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

For product-development or commercial enquiries:

Contact Trehalose UK →

sales@trehalose.co.uk

Further Reading

Can Yeast Ferment Trehalose? What Bakers Need to Know →

How Much Trehalose Should I Use? →

How to Use Trehalose in Baking →

How to Use Trehalose to Keep Food Fresher for Longer →

How Trehalose Helps Food Stay Fresh for Longer →

Trehalose vs Sugar: What’s the Difference? →

References & Further Reading

[1] Nagase Food Ingredients. TREHA® professional bread and bakery guidance. NAGASE identifies TREHA® for baked goods and frozen dough and demonstrates applications including 5% TREHA® in croissant dough.

NAGASE TREHA® food applications → Nagase Foods

[2] 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. The study compared 0%, 2%, 4% and 6% added trehalose alongside 6% sucrose; the 4% loaf produced the strongest overall combination of volume, storage softness and sensory performance.

Read the study → National Library of Korea

[3] 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. Trehalose reduced the bread-staling rate, restricted water movement during storage and improved water-holding capacity.

Read the study → ScienceDirect

[4] Pierre Gélinas, Gisèle Fiset, Anh LeDuy, and Jacques Goulet. 1989. “Effect of Growth Conditions and Trehalose Content on Cryotolerance of Bakers’ Yeast in Frozen Doughs.” Applied and Environmental Microbiology 55, no. 10: 2453–2459. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.55.10.2453-2459.1989. Higher trehalose synthesis in baker’s yeast was associated with greater cryoresistance and improved frozen-dough stability.

Read the full study → PubMed Central (PMC)

[5] Raquel Facco Stefanello et al. 2018. “Trehalose as a Cryoprotectant in Freeze-Dried Wheat Sourdough Production.” LWT 89: 510–517. DOI: 10.1016/j.lwt.2017.11.011. Trehalose at 10% and 15% improved survival of sourdough microorganisms during freeze-drying, with the strongest protection at 15%.

Read the study → ScienceDirect