alpha amylase

An enzyme that breaks the internal bonds of starch chains, present naturally in wheat seed, human saliva, and pancreatic juice. In the grain it mobilizes stored starch for the germinating seedling; in baking, the small amount in flour converts some starch to fermentable sugars that feed yeast and promote crust browning. Balance is everything: too little leaves bread pale and under-risen, while excessive alpha-amylase, common in sprouted wheat harvested after rain, produces sticky, gummy crumb and collapsed loaves because the starch structure is over-degraded. Millers measure its activity with the falling number test and blend flours to hit the target range. Brewers exploit the same enzyme in mashing, where malted barley’s amylases convert grain starch into the sugars that become beer.