Effect of freeze-thaw on the texture of gluten-free pie crust dough

Abstract

Quick frozen food are becoming increasingly popular among consumers in the last decades. During the development of a quick frozen gluten-free pie crust dough product, the aim was to develop a dough that does not suffer any harmful changes after the freeze-thaw process. The texture is one of the most important sensorial properties, and has a great influence on consumer acceptance. Texture Analyser was used to measure the hardness and the brittleness of various doughs. A quick frozen pie crust dough should be easily cut, but non-crumbling after baking. The results showed that the hardness of a dough with 10% more rice flour was bigger than the other dough’s hardness and it became harder after the freeze-thaw process, while the other dough’s hardness have not changed during the process. The first dough was less brittle than the second dough, also before and after the freeze-thaw. In conclusion, the 1st dough is harder, so it is not more easy to cut than the 2nd dough. However, the first dough being less brittle allows cutting with less crumbs. Considering the expectations, in the future the first recipe should be used to make a fast-frozen pie crust dough product.