UC Davis

Predicting bread baking performance with knowledge of flour composition or dough behavior under varying stresses would be of great significance to the baking industry. Various studies have attempted to relate characteristics in flour, such as protein content, protein quality, stability, water absorption, and degree of damaged starch as well as dough rheological properties, such as elasticity, strength, and extensibility to baking performance. The complex mechanisms occurring within the bread processing stages (mixing, sheeting, proofing, and baking) are not fully understood and thus make it difficult to determine a true relationship. The study consisted of using 15 different flour types, making a specific protocol for mixing and taking measurements at each processing stage (e.g. mixing sheeting, and proofing) and assessing any significant relationships between the quality parameters of the baked bread and input parameters from each process stage. A programable mixer was successfully used to produce uniform and consistent doughs across replicates, an instrumented dough sheeter was used to measure dough behavior under varying stress during sheeting and height profiles during proofing. Multiple factors at each stage of development and processing influenced the developing dough. Multiple linear regression models for baked bread quality parameters did show sheeting parameters as significant but measuring across all processes can better predict baked bread quality than simply looking at one process. For example in the current study there was lack of evidence examining linear correlations between loaf firmness and sheeting parameters, however, incorporating sheeting parameters into a comprehensive predictive model showed sheeting as a significant factor in predicting loaf firmness.