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.     

Starch affecting anti-staling agents and their function in freestanding and pan-baked bread

Anti-staling agents with different mechanisms were added to a normal white wheat bread to investigate the relation between bread staling, amylopectin retrogradation and water-related properties (i.e. water content and distribution between crumb and crust). Bread was baked both as pan-baked and freestanding loaves. The anti-staling agents maltogenic α-amylase, distilled monoglyceride and lipase had a direct influence on starch retrogradation, whereas gluten and waxy wheat flour diluted the amylopectin content or changed the ratio between amylose and amylopectin. The degree of staling was measured as the firmness and springiness, together with two new methods, crumbliness and cutability. In addition, the degrees of amylopectin retrogradation and amylose–lipid complex formation were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry, and the water content, water loss and water migration were measured. The addition of α-amylase improved most staling parameters, although the changes were not as large as expected. Furthermore, monoglyceride and lipase increased the formation of amylose–lipid complexes, but only lipase gave better results regarding the specific volume and firmness. Increased amylose–lipid complex formation was seen to increase water migration from crumb to crust. Adding 10% waxy wheat flour appeared to lead to a slight overall improvement i.e. lower water migration and better cutability. Adding gluten or 3% waxy wheat flour only improved the specific volume. The method of baking the loaves, i.e. freestanding or pan-baked, had a greater influence than the anti-staling agents, which shows that bread quality is not always improved by starch affecting anti-staling agents without process changes.     

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.     

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.     

Improvement of the breadmaking quality of wheat flour by the hyperthermophilic xylanase B from Thermotoga maritima

The study was carried out to investigate the effect of hyperthermophilic xylanase B (XynB) from Thermotoga maritima on the properties of wheat bread and its staling during storage. The presence of XynB in the dough led to improvements in the breadmaking quality (i.e. specific volume and crumb structure) and provided an anti-staling effect on breads compared to the control. Addition of XynB could cause ≈60% increase in specific volume in comparison with the control. By fitting the crumb firming kinetics during storage to the Avrami equation, it showed that XynB retarded the bread staling by reducing the initial crumb firmness and the firming process during storage. XynB hydrolyzed the isolated WU-AX faster than WE-AX under the ratio of wheat AX in wheat flour. Improvement of bread quality by XynB can partly be ascribed to the enzyme specificity.     

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.     

Effect of storage temperature on starch retrogradation of bread staling

The objective of the present work was to study the effect of bread storage temperature on starch retrogradation, using water activity measurement and X‐ray diffractometry technique to analyse the changes produced in the crumb firmness such as recrystallization. When storing bread with crust, the crust tends to trap moisture from the crumb, resulting in a dehydration of the crumb with faster staling. For storage temperatures of 25 and 4°C, water activity decreases as a function of storage time whereas at −18°C it is maintained at an almost constant level for 23 days. During storage, the starch molecules are reassociated and generate a new crystalline order which has a typical XRD pattern: the B‐type structure. The peak at 17.4° is indicative of this structure and is related to bread aging. As observed with the recrystallization kinetics, at −18°C only crystal growth may occur, whereas at 25 and 4°C there would be not only growth but also formation of new crystals. At 4°C the rate of starch retrogradation is the highest for the studied conditions.     

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.     

Effects of sourdough and enzymes on staling of high-fibre wheat bread

The effects of sourdough and enzyme mixture (α-amylase, xylanase and lipase) on the specific volume, staling and microstructure of wheat pan bread supplemented with wheat bran were studied. Staling of bread was followed for 6 days by measuring the crumb firmness, changes in crystallization of amylopectin (DSC), increase in signal from the solid phase (NMR) and by light microscopy. The most effective treatment in improvement of quality was the combination of bran sourdough and enzyme mixture. During storage the rate of changes in crumb firmness, amylopectin crystallinity and rigidity of polymers were greatest for the white wheat bread. The most pronounced microstructural changes were swelling of starch granules and separation of amylose and amylopectin in the starch granules. Least changes in crumb firmness, amylopectin crystallinity and rigidity of polymers were observed in bran sourdough bread with enzymes. In contrast to white wheat bread, the starch granules were very much swollen in bran sourdough bread with enzyme mixture. This was hypothesized to be due to the higher water content of bran bread, and degradation of cell wall components leading to altered distribution of water among starch, gluten and bran particles during storage.     

Effect of lactosucrose on the evaluation of visual appearance,texture, water mobility,microstructure and inhibition of staling in wheat bread

Starch retrogradation occurred in the process of storage of bread, resulting in a decreased product quality. The aim of this research was to determine the effect of lactosucrose on bread baking and anti-staling properties. The results showed that the addition of lactosucrose increased the specific volume and slice cell number with a higher air holding capacity. The kinetic equation showed that lactosucrose reduced the rate constant value. Besides, the long- and short-range ordered structure showed that the incorporation of lactosucrose retarded the crystallisation rate, in which the water migration was delayed. This effect was also evident on the microstructure, indicating that lactosucrose could improve the quality of bread and delay the staling of bread, which provided new insights for the baking industry.     

Staling white pan bread: fundamental causes

Staling, as it is applied to bakery foods, is a generic term covering a number of changes that occur in the products during normal storage. Consumers judge staleness by direct perception, which provides a subjective estimate that represents an unconscious integration of many factors. This review will discuss the main components of staling: (1) physicochemical changes of bread and related products (firming and texture deterioration of crumb and loss of crispness of crust) and (2) flavor changes. Section I will cover current theories of changes of firming and textural changes. The starch component of flour is generally considered to be responsible for these staling reactions. Consequently, the physicochemical involvement of amylose, amylopectin in these reactions will be fully discussed and current evidence supporting these theories (rheological, chemical, X-rays) will be given. Interactions of starch and surface active agents and other complexing compounds will be presented in Section II. In Section III, contribution of minor flour components and bakery food ingredients will be evaluated. Section IV will focus on organoleptic deterioration of products, presenting flavor changes that were observed during staling bread. Section V will discuss structural changes of breads caused by enzymolysis during bread production and storage as related to staling. Following the theoretical section (Sections I to V), Section VI will focus on practical control of staling. This discussion will cover the following factors: formulation, surfactants, enzymes, storage, freezing, and packaging.     

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.     

Bread quality of frozen dough substituted with modified tapioca starches

Rheological properties of dough and bread quality of frozen dough-bread containing 18.4% of hydroxypropylated (HTS), acetylated (ATS), and phosphorylated cross-linked (PTS) tapioca starch with different degrees of modification and 1.6% of dried powdered gluten were compared to the same amount of native tapioca starch (NTS) or wheat flour-bread. Doughs substituted with native or modified tapioca starches had the same mixing tolerance as 100% wheat flour. The dough was frozen and stored for 1 week at −18°C, and thawed (one freeze-cycle). The amount of freezable water in the dough substituted with native or modified tapioca starches was not significantly different from that of wheat flour. Frozen dough-bread substituted with highly modified HTS (degree of substitution; DS 0.09–0.11) retarded bread staling, while lowly modified HTS (DS 0.06–0.07) or ATS (DS 0.02–0.04), and PTS (0.004–0.020% phosphoryl content) substitution fastened bread staling as compared with frozen dough-bread baked from wheat flour. The breadcrumbs containing HTS and ATS felt tacky, whereas the bread containing PTS was dry feel. HTS and ATS swelled and collapsed easily during heating, while PTS was difficult to swell and disperse as compared with NTS, therefore the gelatinization properties seemed to affect the texture of bread. Breadcrumb containing HTS showed small firmness during storage, and highly modified HTS-h (DS 0.1) was the smallest. This means highly hydroxypropylated tapioca starch significantly retards bread staling. Staling properties and texture of frozen dough-bread with various tapioca starches were the same as conventional bread baked with the same amount of tapioca starches. These results suggest that a one freeze–thaw cycle and a 1-week frozen period do not change characteristics of starch, gelatinization and retrogradation properties as compared with the conventional method, and the highly modified HTS-h is prominent anti-staling food-stuff in frozen dough.     

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.     

Effect of HPMC addition on the microstructure, quality and aging of wheat bread

The effect of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) addition on a basic bread formulation is described. The effect of HPMC as bread improver and antistaling agent was analysed in terms of microstructure. Bread quality was assessed by physical parameters (volume, width/height ratio, moisture content and hardness), crumb grain structure (number of air cells, cells area and the ratio between cells area and total area) and sensory evaluation (appearance, aroma, taste and texture). Bread staling was determined by following both the hardness increase and the starch retrogradation during storage. The microstructure was analyzed by cryo scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM). The results confirm the ability of the HPMC for improving fresh bread quality and for delaying staling. The presence of HPMC decreased the hardening rate of the bread crumb and also retarded the amylopectin retrogradation. The microstructure analysis revealed the possible interaction between the HPMC and the bread constituents, which could partially explain the antistaling effect of this hydrocolloid.     

Effect of frozen storage time on the bread crumb and aging of par-baked bread

The effect of frozen storage time of par-baked bread on the bread crumb and staling of bread obtained after thawing and full baking is described. The moisture content, hardness and retrogradation enthalpy of the amylopectin were determined in the par-baked bread and in the full baked bread after 7, 14, 28 and 42 days of frozen storage at −25 °C. In addition, the effect of frozen storage on the crumb microstructure was analyzed by cryo scanning electron microscopy (Cryo-SEM). The moisture content of both partially and full baked bread decreased with the time of frozen storage. The crumb hardness of the par-baked bread after different periods of frozen storage was kept constant, while that of their full baked counterpart increased with the time of frozen storage. In both types of breads, the enthalpy of amylopectin retrogradation did not vary with the period of frozen storage. The staling, measured as hardness increase and amylopectin retrogradation, increased along the frozen storage. The changes observed on the frozen par-baked bread after thawing were attributed to the damage of bread structures produced by the ice crystallization, and the microstructure study support that conclusion.     

Fibre-rich additives--the effect on staling and their function in free-standing and pan-baked bread

BACKGROUND: The use of dietary fibre in bread products is increasing because of consumer demand for healthier products. However, an increase in dietary fibre level changes the rheological properties of the dough and also the quality properties of the final bread product. In this study, effects on dough and bread staling were followed after replacing 3% of wheat flour by fibre‐rich additives (fine durum, oat bran, rye bran and wheat bran). Free‐standing and pan‐baked loaves were baked to compare the influence of baking method and loaf shape. RESULTS: All additives increased dough stability, with oat bran giving the greatest stability and longest development time. Parameters measured during storage were distribution, migration and loss of water, cutability, crumbliness, firmness and springiness. Furthermore, amylopectin retrogradation and amylase‐lipid complex formation were assessed. Oat bran provided similar or better results than the control for all staling parameters, while other additives gave no general improvements. Cutability reached a plateau when crumb firmness was ≥ 4 N. CONCLUSION: Small amounts of fibre‐rich additives had a significant influence on staling. However, the baking method (free‐standing or pan‐baked bread) had a greater impact on staling than the additives, thus displaying the importance of the baking method. Cutability was found to be related to firmness. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

耐热木聚糖酶对面包老化作用探讨

研究了纯化的耐热木聚糖酶对面包老化的影响作用,探讨了耐热木聚糖酶影响面包老化的动力学。研究证明,适量添加耐热木聚糖酶的面包品质得到了明显改善,并且老化速度变缓,老化速率常数相比对照组下降幅度高达48%。耐热木聚糖酶对面包老化的影响作用显著。     

Staling of cereal bran enriched cakes and the effect of an endoxylanase enzyme on the physicochemical and sensorial characteristics

Abstract: The staling of cakes enriched with untreated brans and endoxylanase‐treated brans was evaluated by monitoring the changes in physicochemical, thermal, and sensorial properties of cakes during 7‐d storage. Oat and rice bran were treated with different levels (0, 70, and 700 ppm) of an endoxylanase enzyme and added to cakes on 30% flour weight basis. Moisture losses, water activity, crumb firmness, starch retrogradation, and sensorial characteristics were used as staling indicators. Avrami‐type equations were efficiently used for modeling the starch retrogradation kinetics, while linear models most adequately described crumb firming kinetics. Cake staling induced an increase in crumb firmness and enthalpy of amylopectin retrogradation, and a decrease in crumb moisture and sensory quality and acceptability scores of cakes. Oat bran‐containing cakes better maintained their characteristics compared to the ones containing rice bran along the 7‐d storage. Endoxylanase treatment of brans delayed the changes naturally induced during staling in crumb moisture content, amylopectin retrogradation enthalpy, and crumb firmness in the respective cakes. Deterioration of the sensorial characteristics was slower for the cakes containing endoxylanase‐treated brans, as well. The level of endoxylanase treatment did not differentiate significantly (P < 0.05) any of the staling indicators. Overall, this study demonstrated that addition of endoxylanase‐treated brans can result in cakes with improved nutritional characteristics and increased shelf life. Practical Application: The results of the study show the potential of using enzymes to modify underutilized food sources that can be properly incorporated in baked goods, improving their nutritional value, their quality characteristics, and providing longer shelf life. The developed procedure and results can be utilized by the bakery industry to make high fiber and low cost bakery products with improved sensorial characteristics that are appealing to the consumers.     

Effect of storage temperature on the ageing of concentrated wheat starch gels

Flour Milling and Baking Research Association, Chorleywood, Rickmansworth, Herts. Using differential thermal analysis (d.t.a.) the progress of ageing of concentrated wheat starch gels stored at temperatures from?1° to 43° has been investigated. A very close relationship has been found between the ageing of starch gels as measured by d.t.a. and the staling of bread as measured by crumb firmness at storage temperatures of?1°, 10° and 21° but some differences have been found at 32° and 43°. The results at ?1°, 10° and 21 ° provide very strong confirmatory evidence that starch crystallisation is the chief factor in the firming of bread. At elevated storage temperatures (32° and 43°) the róle of starch crystallisation in the firming of bread apparently gradually diminishes. Analysis of the results indicates that the mechanism of crystallisation of the starch, instantaneous nucleation followed by rod-like growth of crystals, is the same over the whole range of storage temperatures ?1° to 43°. Evidence is also presented to show that there is a possibility that at higher storage temperatures a more symmetrically perfect crystal structure is being formed.