a b s t r a c tEmulsifiers and enzymes are used as anti-staling agents in bakery products, providing increased shelf life, which is especially interesting for industrialized breads, such as pan bread. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the emulsifier sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL) and of the enzyme maltogenic amylase (MALTO) on the quality of pan bread during storage. A 2 2 complete factorial experimental design was followed and the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to evaluate the influence of the addition of SSL (0e0.50 g/100 g flour) and MALTO (0e0.04 g/100 g flour) on bread quality parameters. A Control bread (without the addition of emulsifier or enzyme) was also prepared. Response surfaces and mathematical models were obtained for all the responses studied, showing the positive effect of the addition of SSL and MALTO on the increase of bread volume and the reduction of firmness, especially on Day 10. The breads with the highest total scores in the sensory evaluation were those with 0.43 g SSL/100 g flour þ 0.03 g MALTO/100 g flour and with 0.50 g SSL/100 g flour þ 0.02 g MALTO/100 g flour.