Abstract:
The feasibility of emulsifying starches as bread improvers was investigated by incorporating starch sodium octenyl succinate (OSA-st), pre-gelatinized OSA-st and hydrolysed spray-dried OSA-st at 2.5, 5 and 10 % into wheat flour. Dough rheological properties (creep and recovery measurements; Mixolab, Alveograph) and bread quality parameters (specific loaf volume, crust and crumb colour, crumb moisture, crumb grain features, texture) were evaluated. The substituted flours, except hydrolysed OSA-st, significantly increased water absorption measured by Mixolab. The study on the rheological behaviour of doughs containing emulsifying starches, performed using a rheometer and an Alveograph, showed that OSA-st incorporation yielded strengthened dough, whereas pre-gelatinized and hydrolysed OSA-st addition led to more extensible dough. With regard to the thermal behaviour, investigated in water-limited systems by Mixolab, doughs prepared from pre-gelatinized OSA-st and hydrolysed OSA-st exhibited lower maximum peak torque, whilst all three examined starches increased cooking stability and decreased the setback value. Specific volumes of loaves baked from the substituted flours increased, and the highest effect was observed with pre-gelatinized OSA-st, which consequently produced bread crumbs with the largest mean gas cell area. The bread crumbs baked with octenyl succinate starches were whiter and softer. Although upon 1 day of storage no significant moisture retention capacity of emulsifying starches was noticed, the firmness values of OSA-st and pre-gelatinized OSA-st-supplemented bread crumbs, after 24 h of storage, were similar to or significantly lower than those of the control determined 2 h after baking. The obtained results indicate a requirement for further optimization of the octenyl succinate starch-supplemented doughs in terms of the combination of different types and levels of modified starches in order to obtain maximum bread quality.