Effect of different carbohydrases on fresh bread texture and bread staling

The effect of cellulase, xylanase and #-glucanase on the properties of wheat bread and its staling during storage was studied. The presence of the carbohydrases tested led to breads with high specific volume compared to the control. The texture profile analysis was greatly modified in that the firmness of bread crumb was reduced by all the carbohydrases. A kinetic study of the firmness along with the storage by the Avrami equation showed that the presence of carbohydrases produced softer crumbs and also reduced the rate of bread firming, although no great differences were found between enzymes. Since retrogradation of starch is one of most important factors related to bread staling, the modification of the amylopectin retrogradation was measured by scanning calorimetry. Those studies showed that all the carbohydrases decrease the starch retrogradation, and that the xylanases had the greatest effect. The simultaneous analysis of the firming and starch retrogradation results revealed that the anti-staling effect of xylanase might be due to the retardation in the starch retrogradation, while in the case of cellulase and #-glucanase some other mechanism should be implied in their anti-staling action.     

Firming of starch gels and amylopectin retrogradation as related to dextrin production by α-amylase

 The effect of dextrins produced by α-amylase on the firming and amylopectin retrogradation of wheat starch gels was studied. Different gel samples were prepared and included several ingredients, for example, α-amylase, vital gluten and glucoamylase. Amylopectin retrogradation, gel firming and the dextrin profile were analysed throughout a 5-day storage period. Both processes, i.e. firming and starch retrogradation, increased with time, and were not affected by the incorporation of gluten into the mixture. The well-known effect of α-amylase to retard bread crumb firming was also found to be relevant to starch gels. From the results obtained in this work, it seems that this anti-firming effect is not due to modifications of the starch but to dextrins produced by starch hydrolysis, since the effect did not occur when dextrins were removed by glucoamylase. Received: 30 December 1996     

Effect of damaged starch levels on flour-thermal behaviour and bread staling

The effect of the amount of damaged starch in two different flours (wheat and triticale) on the bread quality and its behaviour during storage has been analysed. Two wheat and one triticale flour cultivars were milled in a disc mill to obtain different levels of damaged starch. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Rapid Visco Analyser (RVA) were used to characterize the flour properties and TA-XT2 textural analyses were made on breadcrumb. The effect of the damaged starch content on the bread firming, the amylopectin retrogradation and starch-pasting properties were studied in order to establish any relationship between damaged starch and bread staling. DSC analysis showed that the damaged starch content changed the thermal behaviour of flour–water mixtures: the higher the levels of damaged starch the lower the starch-gelatinization enthalpy and the higher the melting enthalpy of amylose–lipid complexes. The amount of amylopectin retrogradation and breadcrumb firming increased with the damaged starch content at the beginning of storage time; however, differences were decreasing at final storage time. The flour viscosity during pasting decreased as their damaged starch content increased.     

The staling of bread: an X-ray diffraction study

Bread crumb X-ray patterns were analysed by different methods, the objective being to provide more in-depth knowledge of the relationships among starch crystallinity, amylopectin retrogradation and bread firming. Both crumb-firming and amylopectin retrogradation increased with storage time. However, total mass crystallinity grade and relative crystallinity increased only in the first 24 h. The determination of starch crystallinity requires the separation of the crystalline and amorphous intensities, which is sometimes arbitrary, so it would be useful to improve this methodology. Different methods used to determine total crystallinity grade only show the differences existing between fresh and stored bread. B-type crystal structure—corresponding to the amylopectin retrogradation—increased during bread storage, showing a high correlation with bread-firming and storage time. This fact emphasized the above results and suggested that amylopectin retrogradation is an important component to the elucidation of bread staling.     

Relative importance of moisture migration and amylopectin retrogradation for pound cake crumb firming

Moisture migration largely impacts cake crumb firmness during storage at ambient temperature. To study the importance of phenomena other than crumb to crust moisture migration and to exclude moisture and temperature gradients during baking, crustless cakes were baked using an electrical resistance oven (ERO). Cake crumb firming was evaluated by texture analysis. First, ERO cakes with properties similar to those baked conventionally were produced. Cake batter moisture content (MC) was adjusted to ensure complete starch gelatinisation in the baking process. In cakes baked conventionally, most of the increase in crumb firmness during storage was caused by moisture migration. Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR) showed that the population containing protons of crystalline starch grew during cake storage. These and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data pointed to only limited amylopectin retrogradation. The limited increase in amylopectin retrogradation during cake storage cannot solely account for the significant firming of ERO cakes and, hence, other phenomena are involved in cake firming.     

Staling in Starch Bread: the Effect of Gluten Additions on Specific Loaf Volume and Firming Rate

Hypotheses on the role of gluten in bread staling range from gluten having an anti-firming effect, or no effect on firming, to gluten-starch interactions being essential for bread firming. To test these hypotheses, the firming rate of starch bread made from protein-free synthetic flour was compared with that of starch-gluten breads made from synthetic flours containing 1–15% gluten (Fig. 1). Only loaves of similar specific loaf volume and crumb moisture content were compared to eliminate these parameters as variables that might influence firming rate. The starch breads clearly increased in firmness up to six days, indicating that gluten was not essential to the firming process, starch alone causing bread to firm with time. The starch-10% gluten breads and starch-15% gluten breads had very similar specific loaf volumes, moisture contents and firming rates to that of the starch breads. This indicates that protein possibly has some role in firming, because if only starch has a role in firming then adding gluten would effectively dilute the starch and reduce the rate of firming. We propose that increasing bread firmness results from glucan chains of partially leached amylose and amylo-pectin attached to swollen starch granules forming hydrogen bonds with other starch granules and, to a smaller extent, with gluten fibrils.     

The impact of baking time and bread storage temperature on bread crumb properties

Two baking times (9 and 24 min) and storage temperatures (4 and 25 °C) were used to explore the impact of heat exposure during bread baking and subsequent storage on amylopectin retrogradation, water mobility, and bread crumb firming. Shorter baking resulted in less retrogradation, a less extended starch network and smaller changes in crumb firmness and elasticity. A lower storage temperature resulted in faster retrogradation, a more rigid starch network with more water inclusion and larger changes in crumb firmness and elasticity. Crumb to crust moisture migration was lower for breads baked shorter and stored at lower temperature, resulting in better plasticized biopolymer networks in crumb. Network stiffening, therefore, contributed less to crumb firmness. A negative relation was found between proton mobilities of water and biopolymers in the crumb gel network and crumb firmness. The slope of this linear function was indicative for the strength of the starch network.     

Investigation of physicochemical properties of breads baked in microwave and infrared-microwave combination ovens during storage

Staling of breads baked in different ovens (microwave, infrared-microwave combination and conventional) was investigated with the help of mechanical (compression measurements), physicochemical (DSC, X-ray, FTIR) and rheological (RVA) methods. The effect of xanthan-guar gum blend addition on bread staling was also studied. Xanthan-guar gum blend at 0.5% concentration was used in bread formulation. The gums were mixed at equal concentrations to obtain the blend. After baking, the staling parameters of breads were monitored over 5 days storage. During storage, it was seen that hardness, retrogradation enthalpies, setback viscosity, crystallinity values, and FTIR outputs related to starch retrogradation of bread samples increased, whereas FTIR outputs related to moisture content of samples decreased significantly with time. The hardness, retrogradation enthalpy, setback viscosity, and crystallinity values of microwave-baked samples were found to be highest among other heating modes. Using IR-microwave combination heating made it possible to produce breads with similar staling degrees as conventionally baked ones in terms of retrogradation enthalpy and FTIR outputs related to starch retrogradation. Addition of xanthan-guar gum blend decreased hardness, retrogradation enthalpy and total mass crystallinity values of bread samples showing that staling was delayed.     

Impact of sodium chloride on wheat flour dough for yeast-leavened products. II. Baking quality parameters and their relationship

BACKGROUND: The traditional use of sodium chloride (NaCl) fulfills various important rheological, technological and sensory properties in the manufacturing of yeast‐leavened products. However, the use of NaCl in food production has been discussed controversially since a high intake of sodium seems to be associated with hypertension. This study investigates the baking quality parameters of wheat breads containing various levels of NaCl (0–40 g NaCl kg^?1flour). RESULTS: Crumb firmness and rate of bread staling decreased with decreasing NaCl levels. A slight increase in loaf volume was observed based on the increased yeast leavening ability resulting from additional NaCl. Higher crumb retrogradation (measured by differential scanning calorimetry) was observed with low NaCl levels. CONCLUSION: The retrogradation effect is based on the theory that NaCl probably leads to Na⁺ inclusion in starch molecules during storage and thus reduces retrogradation. Further, significant (P?0.05) linear relationships (r ≥ 0.829) between Rheofermentometer results, bread volume and crumb firmness were found, suggesting a predictability of bread quality by measurement of gas release. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Substitution of wheat starch with non-wheat starches and cross-linked waxy barley starch affects sensory properties and staling of Arabic bread

Substitution of starch from barley, corn, oat, potato, rice or sorghum for prime wheat starch in the formulation of Arabic bread resulted in breads with significantly (P < 0.05) different textural attributes from regular wheat bread except for barley starch. Substitution of waxy barley starch (957 g kg⁻¹ amylopectin) for wheat starch (279 g kg⁻¹ amylopectin) resulted in bread that was not significantly different from regular wheat bread when assessed in the fresh state. However, upon aging, the waxy barley starch-containing bread staled at a significantly (P < 0.05) faster rate than regular wheat bread. Breads made with waxy barley starch cross-linked with 50, 200 or 500 ppm phosphorus oxychloride showed higher enthalpy of melting (ΔH) upon aging and staled faster than the bread formulated with waxy barley starch. These findings suggest that amylopectin retrogradation is one of the determinants of Arabic bread staling and that cross-linking promotes recrystallisation of amylopectin, possibly by keeping the polymer chains in close proximity. The rate of staling in breads formulated with cross-linked waxy barley starch decreased with increasing levels of cross-linking, possibly owing to restrictions in the degree of starch swelling. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Bread staling: I.—Experimental study

Starting with a typical baker's dough, a model system was constructed in order to examine whether moisture re-distributed itself between the two principal components, gluten and starch, of crumb during ageing. Separation of the components of dough was achieved by ultra-centrifugation. It was estimated that up to 30% of the moisture associated with the gluten fraction, migrated to the starch during 120 h of storage of the baked system at 25°c. The rate of migration decreased approximately exponentially with time. Moisture from the gluten was also found to migrate to the starch during baking, but at an accelerated rate. The rate of moisture migration in the model system, both at 100 and 25°c, was consistent with a diffusion-controlled process involving migration of the gluten-released moisture to the gluten-starch interface. Experimental results show that staling of bread involves (in addition to the generally accepted retrogradation of the starch) an irreversible modification in the water structure of the gluten, leading to the formation of labile water, which becomes available for absorption by the incompletely gelatinised starch. Since the gluten forms the continuous matrix of the crumb, the modification results in a rigidification or firming process.     

Bread staling. IV. Electrical properties of the crumb during staling

A new technique for studying the staling of bread is described based on conductance and capacitance measurements on the isolated centre-crumb. It is proposed that the observed changes (up to 17%) in the electrical properties are due to retrogradation of the starch as well as the changes undergone by the transforming protein. Moisture redistribution is thought not to play a significant role during staling of the crumb at temperatures of less than about 10 °C. At 36 °C the first-order rate-constant for the protein transformation was estimated to be 0.7 day^?1 and 0.3 day^?1 for the rate constant for retrogradation of the starch fraction of the crumb. At 0 °C, the protein transformation was insignificant and the rate constant for the starch change was 1.03 day^?1. The thickness of the gluten membrane surrounding the starch granules in bread was approximated to be less than 1 μm.     

Role of fat on the quality and shelf-life of gluten-free bread baked by Ohmic heating and conventional deck oven

The addition of fat to gluten-free (GF) bread can influence several quality attributes, such as texture and starch retrogradation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of different fats on GF bread properties using two different baking methods (conventional and ohmic heating), in order to understand how these affect the physical bread quality, the formation of amylose-lipid complexes and its effect on crumb firming behavior. Fats (coconut, rapeseed, butter, and palm) with different physico-chemical properties, and physical state (solid, liquid) were tested in standard GF bread formulations. Results showed that fat significantly improved crumb pore uniformity. Crumb texture and pasting properties were mostly influenced by the type of fat, storage time and baking method. Staling was delayed in all breads added with fat due to the formation of amylose-lipid complexes, which were highest with palm fat and were usually higher when baked by ohmic heating.     

Role of maltodextrins in the staling of starch gels

The possible role of maltodextrins with a low degree of polymerisation (DP) as agents that retard bread staling was studied by following the staling process on a model system consisting of starch gels by means of textural and calorimetric assays. Maltodextrins of DP 2 to 7 were added at concentrations of 0.5% (starch base) to 15% (w/w) starch gels. Textural and calorimetric results were analysed by the Avrami equation. The addition of maltodextrins promoted a slight decrease in the initial firmness of the starch gels. All the samples with maltodextrins showed a lower rate of firming. The same effect was observed on the rate of amylopectin retrogradation, except for the maltose sample under short and intermediate storage times. It was concluded that low DP maltodextrins might be responsible for the anti-staling effect obtained by using α-amylase addition in the breadmaking process.     

山梨糖醇对面包储藏期间品质的影响

利用质构仪﹑低场核磁共振(LF-NMR)等方法研究山梨糖醇对面包储藏期间的品质变化以及水分含量的影响。结果表明:山梨糖醇的加入使得面团发酵速率有所下降,也能够显著降低面包的硬度和咀嚼性(P0.05),减小储存期间的老化度。LF-NMR测试表明山梨糖醇的加入能提升面包的持水性能。利用面包硬度拟合Avrami方程,面包的老化速率常数有所减小,且得到的相关系数较高,说明面包硬度是面包老化在质构上的表征。总体而言,山梨糖醇能提升面包的持水性能,改善面包的口感。     

The anti-staling effect of pre-gelatinized flour and emulsifier in gluten-free bread

The use of gluten-free products is increasing since an increasing number of people (1–2 %) are suffering from Celiac disease and thereby need a gluten-free diet. Gluten-free bread tends to have shorter shelf life and quality compared with white wheat bread. In this study, 3 % (flour basis) of pre-gelatinized oat and barley flour as well as an emulsifier were added to a gluten-free mix to increase the water content by 1.5–2 %, affect the starch retrogradation and the formation of amylose lipid complex. The staling was followed measuring the firmness (texture analyzer), water content and distribution (nuclear magnetic resonance), amylopectin retrogradation and the formation of amylose–lipid complex (differential scanning calorimetry) in order to see the impact of both macroscopic and molecular changes on firmness. Both gluten-free bread and a white wheat bread were used as control loaves. Largest specific volume was found in the gluten-free control. The firmness varied with both the specific volume and the point of measurement. The amount of retrograded amylopectin increased the firmness, although this effect was dependent on the type of bread, in terms of distribution and availability of the water within the system. The proton relaxation time, which was representing movable water, decreased during storage and revealed that both the amylopectin retrogradation and the lipid complex formation were affecting the rigidity of the amorphous domain and not only the crystalline regions. In contrast to the other recipes, the use of emulsifier caused limited retrogradation and a low correlation between the texture properties and time-dependent events.     

High-Legume Wheat-Based Matrices: Impact of High Pressure on Starch Hydrolysis and Firming Kinetics of Composite Breads

The significance of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) processing on the physico-chemical—techno-functional and firming kinetics—parameters and nutritional properties—nutritional composition and “in vitro” starch digestibility—of highly replaced wheat flour breads by chickpea, pea and soybean flours was investigated, and the power/effectiveness of HHP in partially replacing structural agents (gluten and/or hydrocolloids) was discussed. Incorporation of pressured legume slurries (350 MPa, 10 min) at 42% of wheat replacement into bread formulation provoked a general increase in initial crumb hardness and browning of the crust with a concomitant explicit reduction of moisture, whiteness of the crumb and bread specific volume, but a slower in vitro starch digestibility with prominent formation of slowly digestible starch and resistant starch, compared to their counterparts prepared by using a conventional gluten/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-added breadmaking recipe/process. Pressured breads with no gluten but 3% CMC in the formulation kept higher sensory ratings, softer initial texture and lower firming profiles on ageing than pressured breads with no gluten nor CMC. HHP has proven to be an effective technology to partially replace structuring agents (CMC and/or gluten) in high-legume wheat-based matrices providing sensorially acceptable breads with medium physico-chemical quality profile but enhanced formation of nutritionally relevant starch fractions and slower crumb firming kinetics on ageing.     

Effect of low molecular weight dextrins on gelatinization and retrogradation of starch

!-Amylases, usually added to bread recipes as anti-firming agents, are known to produce low molecular weight dextrins by starch hydrolysis. The influence of these compounds on the gelatinization and retrogradation of starch was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. Adding oligosaccharides to starch caused a delay in gelatinization, although its extent was not quantified. However, oligosaccharides of degrees of polymerization (DP) 3-5 reduced the enthalpy of the retrogradation endotherm, shown as the staling endotherm. The addition of gluten to starch and starch/oligosaccharide mixtures had no effect on the gelatinization and retrogradation of starch. The retrogradation of starch in dough samples was also analysed, after 'baking' in the calorimeter, to obtain additional information about starch retrogradation during storage. Oligosaccharides of DP 3-5 also reduced the enthalpy of the retrogradation endotherm. This work provides evidence that oligosaccharides influence starch changes during the baking and storage of bread. These effects could be considered as the mechanism by which the bacterial !-amylase reduces starch retrogradation and acts as an anti-firming agent.     

The Application of NIR FT-Raman Spectroscopy to Monitor Starch Retrogradation and Crumb Firmness in Semolina Bread

In this study, the potential application of near-infrared (NIR) Fourier-transform (FT)-Raman spectroscopy to monitor starch retrogradation in stored bread crumb was investigated. Semolina-based bread was made and cut into slices, which were stored under controlled conditions in sealed plastic bags. The aging of the bread crumb was monitored by both NIR FT-Raman spectroscopy and a texture analysis over a period of 20 days. Two-dimensional correlation analysis in the spectral range of 390–975 cm⁻¹ revealed characteristic differences among the spectra collected over time for bands that peaked at 480, 765, and 850 cm⁻¹. The band at 480 cm⁻¹ is studied here in detail. During the storage, the peak frequency of this band shifted towards lower wavenumbers, and its full width at half height decreased. Both of these parameters are highly correlated (R ² = 0.921 and R ² = 0.949, respectively) to crumb hardness measured by the texture analyzer.     

Sourdough on quinoa and buckwheat gluten-free breads: Evaluation of autochthonous starter fermentation on bread nutritional and technological properties

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of two autochthonous strains of lactic acid bacteria as sourdough (SD) starters on gluten-free bread technological quality and in vitro starch hydrolysis and antioxidant activity. Two strains of Limosilactobacillus fermentum isolated from buckwheat (BW) and quinoa flours were used. SDs were prepared from wholegrain quinoa or BW flours. Bread technological properties, total polyphenol content and in vitro antioxidant activity and starch hydrolysis and dialysability were assessed. Specific bread volumes were between 2.61 and 2.76 cm³ g⁻¹. Breads with quinoa-based SD had overall higher technological quality than breads made with BW SDs, shown by a softer, well-aerated crumb, with an opener crumb structure and larger air area. Crumb firming during storage was reduced up to 29% when quinoa SD was used, and up to 42% when BW SD was added. Quinoa breads showed higher polyphenols and FRAP values, whereas BW breads had significantly higher ABTS values. Total starch hydrolysis and dialysability were significantly reduced when SD was used. Starch hydrolysis was reduced up to 42% and 25% when quinoa and BW SD were used, respectively. SD application produced breads with higher technological quality and modified in vitro starch hydrolysis and antioxidant capacity. Even though these effects seemed to be influenced by pH, a biological effect was also observed.