Starch Hydrolyzing Enzymes for Retarding the Staling of Rice Bread

Previous attempts have been made to obtain gluten‐free bread of acceptable quality for bread specific volume and crumb texture. Rice bread is a good alternative to celiac patients, but it has a very rapid staling during storage. Rice starch is more prone to retrograde during storage than wheat starch, and the special hydrophobic nature of the rice proteins requires specific enzymes to be used in the rice bread process. To retard rice bread staling, two different starch hydrolyzing enzymes (α‐amylase of intermediate thermostability and cyclodextrin glycoxyl transferase [CGTase]) have been tested and their effect on fresh bread quality and staling during storage has been evaluated. The addition of α‐amylase improved bread specific volume and crumb firmness but very sticky textures were obtained. The addition of CGTase produced even higher specific volume and similar crumb firmness with better texture. Both enzymes decreased the ability of amylopectin to retrograde during storage. The firming kinetic was lowered by the α‐amylase but not the limiting firmness, while the rice crumb from CGTase firmed quickly with a very short range of firmness increase. Results revealed that the starch hydrolysis brought about by the α‐amylase was not sufficient to retard staling. CGTase was considered a better antistaling agent because of its starch hydrolyzing and cyclizing activity.     

Textural Optimization of Shelf‐Stable Bread: Effects of Glycerol Content and Dough‐Forming Technique

The effects of glycerol content and dough‐forming method on the physical, textural, and sensory characteristics of shelf‐stable bread were determined. Bread dough was produced with 0, 2, 4, and 6% nominal glycerol content, and formed into rolls by either dough‐dividing or extrusion‐forming methodologies. Baked products were evaluated by uniaxial compression and fitting of stress‐strain data to a three‐parameter mathematical model. A trained sensory panel quantified textural attributes using magnitude estimation methodology. Selected characteristics were also judged by an untrained consumer panel. Sensoryinstrumental relationships were determined. Products were tested instrumentally after different storage intervals to determine effects of glycerol level and dough‐forming process on degree of firming. Results showed that extrusion‐forming produced, on average, relatively more dense and less deformable products than did the dough‐dividing method; extrusionformed samples also had greater sensory firmness and were less similar to an ideal sensory texture. However, high glycerol concentrations in extrusion‐formed products gave sensory profiles that were substantially closer to the ideal. Sensory firmness and chewiness were closely correlated with parameters of power law functions that described compression behavior. Glycerol reduced ultimate firmness after storage.     

Effects of Commercial Hydrolytic Enzyme Additives on Japanese‐Style Sponge and Dough Bread Properties and Processing Characteristics

The effects of increasing levels of eight commercial fungal enzymes enriched in four types of activity (α‐amylase, protease, xylanase, or cellulase) on Japanese‐style sponge and dough bread quality and processing characteristics have been studied using a Canadian red spring wheat straight‐grade flour. At optimum levels, the enriched α‐amylases, xylanases, and cellulases increased loaf volume and bread score and reduced crumb firmness, while the proteases only reduced crumb firmness. For α‐amylases, xylanases, and cellulases, optimum levels for crumb firmness were obtained at higher levels of addition than for loaf volume and bread score. At high levels of addition, all four enriched enzyme types reduced loaf volume and bread score and increased crumb firmness relative to optimum levels, with the proteases showing the most dramatic effects. α‐Amylases and cellulases had little impact on dough mixing requirements, while xylanases increased and proteases greatly reduced mixing requirements. All enzymes at optimum levels reduced sheeting work requirements, resulting in softer more pliable dough. Optimum bread properties for α‐amylases, xylanases, and cellulases were attained within a relatively narrow range of dough sheeting work values. This similarity in response suggests a dominant common nonspecific mechanism for their improver action, which is most likely related to water release and the resulting impact on physical dough properties.     

Moisture Redistribution and Phase Transitions During Bread Staling

Standard white breads were stored with or without crust at 25°C in hermetic pouches. During two weeks of storage, the crumb moisture content and water activity (a_w) decreased significantly when stored with crust. When stored without crust, moisture content and a_w remained relatively unchanged. The causes of the initial firming of both breads over zero to seven days were not conclusive. But when stored beyond seven days, bread stored with crust was significantly firmer in texture and higher in amylopectin recrystallization than bread stored without crust. Moisture redistribution from crumb to crust played a significant role. This was accompanied by a decrease in freezable water in the bread crumb stored with crust. This loss in freezable water coincided with changes in the thermomechanical profile only in the case of sample stored with crust intact (and with a significant total and freezable water loss). Bread crumb stored without crust did not change in total and freezable water and showed less change in thermomechanical transitions. The transition occurring at ≈60°C (T₂) correlated with amylopectin recrystallization but it could also have been caused by moisture loss during the analysis. Moisture migration from crumb to crust greatly reduced the total and freezable water in the crumb region, resulting in a significant reduction in the magnitude of the mechanical transition at ≈0°C (T₁) as well as an increase in the storage modulus.     

Water Self‐Diffusion Coefficient and Staling of White Bread as Affected by Glycerol

Water self‐diffusion coefficient (D) was investigated in bread crumb during storage to determine the effect of moisture loss and glycerol on the staling mechanism. D increased with added glycerol in breads of the same moisture content. D remained unchanged after storage without crust (with no moisture loss from crumb to crust). When stored with crust (with moisture loss), more mobile water was lost (probably from glycerol), resulting in a more rapid initial decrease in D in glycerol‐added bread. Competition of water may be a key influencing factor. Glycerol and loss of moisture (according to crumb‐crust moisture gradient) triggered a shift in moisture redistribution from starch and gluten to glycerol. This could have contributed to the increased structural rigidity and more rapid firming of the glycerol‐added bread. As a result, a greater firming rate was observed in glycerol‐added bread even with less amylopectin recrystallization as compared with the control.     

Understanding and Modeling the Processing‐Mechanical Property Relationship of Bread Crumb Assessed by Indentation

Measuring fundamental mechanical parameters such as Young's modulus and critical stress is a straightforward and valid approach to evaluating the physical texture of breadcrumb. The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether such fundamental mechanical properties could be measured by indentation techniques such as the AACC crumb firmness method, and then to alter breadmaking conditions so as to model the relationship between these indentation mechanical properties as a function of crumb moisture content and crumb density. Bread was baked according to a short dough process using Canadian western red spring (CWRS) wheat flour. Factors considered in the design of experiments were proofing time, water absorption, crosshead speed, and indenter diameter. Young's modulus and critical stress, measured with 12‐ and 20‐mm cylindrical indenters, were well covalidated with those obtained from a standard compression test. With increases in proofing time and water absorption, a more porous and compliant bread texture led to decreasing Young's modulus and critical stress. Our results revealed a good mapping of mechanical properties to crumb moisture content and density that were correlated to breadmaking conditions, thus permitting more precise prediction of the mechanical properties that determine bread texture.     

Structural Properties of Starch in Bread and Bread Model Systems: Influence of an Antistaling α‐Amylase

The influence of an antistaling α‐amylase on bread crumb and on wheat starch gels was investigated taking into account different levels of structural hierarchy. Bread was prepared by a conventional baking procedure. Starch gels were produced by heating a concentrated starch dispersion in closed molds. Bread and starch gels were characterized by compression tests, light microscopy (LM), differential scanning calorimetry, and X‐ray measurements. The α‐amylase enhanced the initial firmness of starch gels and reduced the firming rate of bread and starch gels on aging. LM revealed that amylose and amylopectin phase‐separated within the starch granules and that freshly baked control bread and starch gels showed weak birefringence which became more intense during aging. Amylase‐containing bread and starch gels exhibited strong birefringence in the amylose rich region of the granules directly after baking which did not significantly increase during aging. The enzyme hindered the retrogradation of amylopectin as detected by differential scanning calorimetry, whereas X‐ray diffraction indicated that the enzyme induced low levels of starch crystallinity which did not change during aging. It is hypothesized that the antistaling effect of the amylase is based on the capacity to partially degrade amylopectin and, by this, to hinder its recrystallization. On the other hand, the enzyme slightly degrades amylose by an endo‐mechanism which, in turn, promotes the rapid formation of a partly crystalline amylose network in fresh bread and hinders amylose rearrangements during aging.     

Starch Retrogradation and Firming of Bread Containing Hydroxypropylated,Acetylated, and Phosphorylated Cross‐Linked Tapioca Starches for Wheat Flour

The present investigation aims at understanding the role of chemically modified starch on the firmness of fresh or stale bread. Bread was prepared from wheat flour or substituted wheat flour that contained 18% chemically modified tapioca starch and 2% vital gluten. Hydroxypropylated tapioca starch (HTS), acetylated tapioca starch (ATS), phosphorylated cross‐linked tapioca starch (PTS), and native tapioca starch (NTS) were tested. Bread prepared from the substituted flour with PTS showed a firmer texture on the day of baking compared with bread prepared from NTS, HTS, and ATS. PTS retained its granular structure in the gluten network after baking and seemed to play the role of filler particles in the gluten matrix, thereby increasing firmness of fresh bread crumb. Bread prepared from the substituted flour with HTS or ATS firmed at a lower rate and showed a lower endothermic melting enthalpy of amylopectin after three days of storage compared with NTS or PTS. These findings suggest that the staling of bread containing chemically modified tapioca starch involves recrystallization of amylopectin.     

Baking Performance of Durum and Soft Wheat Flour in a Sponge-Dough Breadmaking Procedure

Breadmaking properties were determined for formulations that included durum, soft, and spring wheat flour, using a pound-loaf sponge-dough baking procedure. Up to 60% durum or soft wheat flour plus 10% spring wheat flour could be incorporated at the sponge stage for optimum dough-handling properties. At remix, the dough stage required 30% spring wheat flour. Bread made with 100% spring wheat flour was used as a standard for comparison. Bread made with 60% durum flour exhibited internal crumb color that was slightly yellow. When storing pound bread loaves for 72 hr, crumb moisture content remained unchanged. Crumb firmness and enthalpy increased the most in bread made with 60% soft wheat flour. Crumb firmness increased the least in bread made with 100% spring wheat flour. Enthalpy changed the least in bread made with 60% durum flour. Crumb moisture content was significantly correlated with crumb firmness (r = -0.82) and enthalpy (r = -0.65). However, crumb moisture content was specific for each type of flour and a function of flour water absorption; therefore, these correlations should be interpreted with caution. Crumb firmness and enthalpy were significantly correlated (r = 0.65). Ball-milling flour resulted in an increase in water absorption of ≈2% and in crumb moisture content of ≈0.5% but had no effect on either crumb firmness or enthalpy.     

Effects of Glycerol and Moisture Redistribution on Mechanical Properties of White Bread

Effects of glycerol and moisture redistribution on mechanical properties of bread were investigated. Firmness increased in all bread crumb over storage time but firming rate was dependent on the initial moisture content, storage method (stored with and without crust), and the presence of glycerol. Faster firming was observed when bread crumb had low initial moisture content and high glycerol level, and was stored with crust. The effect of glycerol was more pronounced when stored with crust, suggesting a critical role of water loss. Firmness showed a good correlation (r² = 0.95) with the scale factor (C₁) from a mathematical model. Recoverable work rapidly decreased in first three days of storage and then remained relatively unchanged thereafter. Hardening of aged bread (but not fresh bread) by glycerol may be explained by local dehydration of bread polymer due to osmotic dehydration or competition for water, which in turn promote more rapid amorphous network formation but less amylopectin recrystallization.     

Effects of Flour Strength,Baking Absorption,and Processing Conditions on the Structure and Mechanical Properties of Bread Crumb

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of flour type, baking absorption, variation in sheeting, and dough proofing time on the density, crumb grain (visual texture), and mechanical properties (physical texture) of bread crumb. All response variables were measured on the same bread crumb specimens. Bread loaves were prepared by a short‐time bread‐making process using four spring wheat flours of varying strength. After crumb density measurement, digital image analysis (DIA) was used to determine crumb grain properties including crumb brightness, cell size, cell wall thickness, and crumb uniformity. Tensile tests were performed on bone‐shaped specimens cut from the same bread slices used for DIA to obtain values for Young's modulus, fracture stress, fracture strain, and fracture energy. Proof time had the most profound influence on the bread with substantial effects on loaf volume, crumb density, crumb brightness, and grain, as well as crumb mechanical properties. Increasing proof time resulted in higher loaf volume, lower crumb density and brightness, coarser crumb with fewer and larger cells with thicker cell walls, and weaker crumb tensile properties. Varying flour type also led to significant differences in most of the measured crumb parameters that appeared to correspond to differences in gluten strength among the flour samples. With increasing flour strength, there was a clear trend to increasing loaf volume, finer and more uniform crumb grain, and stronger and more extensible bread crumb. Increasing baking absorption had virtually no effect on crumb structure but significantly weakened crumb strength and increased fracture strain. In contrast, varying the number of sheeting passes had a minor effect on crumb cellular structure but no effect on mechanical properties. The experimental data were consistent with a cause‐effect relationship between flour strength and the tensile strength of bread crumb arising as a result of stronger flours exhibiting greater resistance to gas cell coalescence, thereby having fewer crumb defects.     

Malted Sorghum as a Functional Ingredient in Composite Bread

To alleviate the adverse effects (grittiness and high crumb firmness) caused by the inclusion of sorghum flour in composite breads, sorghum grain was malted with the aim of decreasing the gelatinization temperature and increasing the water‐holding capacity of sorghum flour. Four different heat treatments were investigated: drying the malt at high temperatures (50–150°C), stewing, steaming, and boiling before drying the malt at 80°C. Malting decreased the pasting temperature of sorghum to values approaching those of wheat flour, but the paste viscosity was very low. Increasing the malt drying temperature inactivated the amylases but gave malts of darker color and bitter taste. Stewing, steaming, and boiling the malt before drying almost completely inactivated the amylases and increased the enzyme‐susceptible starch content and the paste viscosity of malt flours. Bread made with boiled malt flour (30%) had an improved crumb structure, crumb softness, water‐holding capacity, and resistance to staling, as well as a fine malt flavor compared with the bread made with grain sorghum flour (30%). Consumers preferred the malted sorghum bread over the bread made with plain sorghum flour.     

Comparison of Near‐Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy and Texture Analyzer for Measuring Wheat Bread Changes in Storage

Bread staling affects bread texture properties and is one of the most common problems in bread storage. Bread firmness, as measured in compression mode by a texture analyzer (TA) has been commonly used to measure bread staling. This study investigated the potential of visible and near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to detect bread changes during storage by comparing NIRS results with those obtained by TA. Twenty‐five loaves of commercial wheat white pan bread from one batch were studied over five days. NIRS and TA measurements were made on the same slice at approximately the same time. The experiment was repeated five times using the same kind of commercial samples from five different batches. NIRS measurements of slices, loaf averages, and daily averages were compared with TA measurements. NIRS spectra had a high correlation to TA firmness. NIRS measurements correlated better with the actual storage time and had smaller standard deviations than the TA measurements. The batch differences had less effect on NIRS measurements than on the TA measurements. The results indicate that NIRS could follow bread changes during storage more accurately than the TA. NIRS is probably based on both physical and chemical changes during bread staling, unlike the TA method that only measures bread firmness, which is only one aspect of the staling phenomenon.     

Influence of Amylose Content on Properties of Wheat Starch and Breadmaking Quality of Starch and Gluten Blends

The effects of amylose content on thermal properties of starches, dough rheology, and bread staling were investigated using starch of waxy and regular wheat genotypes. As the amylose content of starch blends decreased from 24 to 0%, the gelatinization enthalpy increased from 10.5 to 15.3 J/g and retrogradation enthalpy after 96 hr of storage at 4°C decreased from 2.2 to 0 J/g. Mixograph water absorption of starch and gluten blends increased as the amylose content decreased. Generally, lower rheofermentometer dough height, higher gas production, and a lower gas retention coefficient were observed in starch and gluten blends with 12 or 18% amylose content compared with the regular starch and gluten blend. Bread baked from starch and gluten blends exhibited a more porous crumb structure with increased loaf volume as amylose content in the starch decreased. Bread from starch and gluten blends with amylose content of 19.2–21.6% exhibited similar crumb structure to that of bread with regular wheat starch which contained 24% amylose. Crumb moisture content was similar at 5 hr after baking but higher in bread with waxy starch than in bread without waxy starch after seven days of storage at 4°C. Bread with 10% waxy wheat starch exhibited lower crumb hardness values compared with bread without waxy wheat starch. Higher retrogradation enthalpy values were observed in breads containing waxy wheat starch (4.56 J/g at 18% amylose and 5.43 J/g at 12% amylose) compared with breads containing regular wheat starch (3.82 J/g at 24% amylose).     

Influences of Baking and Thawing Conditions on Quality of Par‐Baked French Bread

We examined the effects of baking time and temperature for the preparation of par‐baked French bread, and of thawing and second baking conditions on the characteristics of bread prepared from par‐baked bread. Par‐baked French bread with loaf volume and crumb structure comparable to fully baked bread (control) was obtained with ≥6 min baking at 218°C, which increased the crumb temperature to 97°C. Freezing, thawing, and second baking of par‐baked bread decreased loaf volume by ≥100 mL. The second baking time of par‐baked bread, which was adjusted to have the bread crumb subjected to 97°C for 14 min based on the crumb temperature profile, produced a darker crust of bread compared with the control. The par‐baked bread with 6 min of initial baking at 218°C and frozen at ‐30°C required 12 min of second baking after thawing for 180 min to ≈20°C to produce crust color, crumb moisture, and firmness comparable to that of the control. When thawing time of par‐baked bread was shortened from 180 to 0 min, the second baking time required to yield crust color similar to the control increased from 12 to 16 min. The crumb moisture content was higher in bread baked for 16 min without thawing par‐baked bread than those baked after thawing for 45 or 180 min. Lowering the initial baking temperature of par‐baked bread from 246 to 163°C with the adjustment of baking time from 4 to 12 min decreased crumb firmness of the re‐baked (218°C, 16 min) bread from 2.5 to 1.5 N at 2 hr after baking and from 9.8–10.3 to 6.2–6.3 N at 48 hr.     

Application of Response Surface Methodology in the Development of Gluten‐Free Bread

The formulation of gluten‐free (GF) bread of high quality presents a formidable challenge as it is the gluten fraction of flour that is responsible for an extensible dough with good gas‐holding properties and baked bread with good crumb structure. As the use of wheat starch in GF formulations remains a controversial issue, naturally GF ingredients were utilized in this study. Response surface methodology was used to optimize a GF bread formulation primarily based on rice flour, potato starch, and skim milk powder. Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and water were the predictor variables. Analyses of the treatments from the design were made 24 hr after baking. Specific volume and loaf height increased as water addition increased (P < 0.01). Crumb firmness decreased as water levels increased (P < 0.01). Significant interactions (P < 0.01) between HPMC and water were found for the number of cells/cm². The number of large cells (>4 mm²) decreased with increasing levels of HPMC and water. Optimal ingredient levels were determined from the data obtained. The optimized formulation contained 2.2% HPMC and 79% water flour/starch base (fsb) and measured responses compared favorably to predicted values. Shelf‐life analysis of the optimized formulation over seven days revealed that, as crumb firmness increased, crust firmness and crumb moisture decreased.     

Effects of Rice Flour Blends on Bread Texture and Staling

The effects of blending rice flour with wheat flour on bread texture and staling were investigated with three rice varieties with different amylose contents. For the texture analysis of bread crumb, the compression test, puncture test, and tensile test were performed. A flour blend containing rice flour suppressed the recovery of the crumb after compression. For the puncture test, blends with rice flour increased the distance to penetrate the crumb. The rupture strain measured with the puncture test decreased with staling of the bread crumb for all samples tested. The fresh bread crumb sample containing waxy rice flour had much greater extensibility in the tensile test than the other samples tested, but it was dramatically decreased after one day of storage. Endothermic enthalpies corresponding to retrograded amylopectin, which is part of the staling process, were also measured. The enthalpy of bread crumb from the blended flour was lower than that of wheat flour bread up to three days but was higher on day 4. A blend of rice flour thus reduced amylopectin retrogradation during early storage, but it was accelerated later. Bread blended with waxy rice flour showed the lowest enthalpy during storage.     

Evaluation of Textural and Structural Properties of Barbari Bread During Storage

This study was performed using three Barbari flours (strong, medium, and weak) with different physical, chemical, and rheological properties. Determination of texture firmness of Barbari breads (A, B, and C, made of strong, medium, and weak flours, respectively) during storage was carried out with a texture analyzer and evaluating the bread crumb properties and changes during storage with a nondestructive ultrasonic technique. The bread microstructure was assessed with scanning electron microscopy, and the general process of starch gelatinization and retrogradation was evaluated with differential scanning calorimetry. The bread sensory properties were evaluated by 10 trained panelists. Barbari A, made from strong flour, had less firmness, lower transition of ultrasonic wave velocity, lower value of elastic modulus, reduced value of enthalpy, lower average temperature, larger pore diameter and area of images, and higher point total in sensory evaluation than Barbari B and Barbari C, particularly the latter, as storage time progressed. Barbari A's desirable quality characterization and longer shelf life were owing to the qualities of the flour, which enabled the production of dough with the appropriate properties. Eventually, the results of device‐based and sensory tests were significantly correlated. Ultrasonic nondestructive testing is recommended over other methods for assessing the texture, cell structure, and elastic properties of bread after baking and during storage, because it is fast, nondestructive, and less expensive than other methods and can be used during production.     

Utilization of enzyme mixtures to retard bread crumb firming

The influence of enzyme mixtures containing amylase and lipase activities on straight dough bread staling was studied. Amylopectin retrogradation, crumb firming, amylose-lipid complexes, and dextrin production were analyzed in bread samples supplemented with two enzyme mixtures. The addition of enzyme mixtures to bread formula causes a beneficial effect on bread keeping properties and the formation of a more thermostable amylose-lipid complex than the one found in control bread. Amylopectin retrogradation was inhibited by the use of the enzyme; the effect was accompanied by reduced crumb-firming rates. The enzymatically generated water-soluble dextrins (maltose and DP3, DP4, DP5, and DP6 dextrins) are the most effective in preserving crumb softness during bread storage.