Effects of partial preheated dough on its frozen characteristics: Baking, water mobility, thermal, and microstructural properties

Abstract

Background and objectives Flour heat treatment is commonly used to improve dough and bread quality. This study creatively proposed applying partial preheated dough (PPHD) to frozen dough and evaluated bread characteristics and its internal mechanism systematically. Findings Results suggested that moderate PPHD level presented higher specific volume, softer hardness, more appealing brown crust color and more uniform texture of frozen dough bread. Moisture status analysis showed that PPHD restricted the mobility of overall water molecules and the migration from bound water to semi‐bound water. DSC and RVA results suggested that the inter‐ and intramolecular association of starch granules, leading to abundant formation of hydrogen bonds, strengthened the gluten matrix network. Besides, gelatinized starch granules in PPHD served as a paste to promote the cross‐linking of starch and gluten, which was observed by SEM. Conclusions Partial preheated dough inhibited ice recrystallization by restricting water migration and formed a highly networked starch–gluten structure that delayed its destruction during freezing. Significance and novelty This study demonstrated obvious improvement of PPHD on frozen dough quality and further explained the mechanism systematically. Moreover, the method was innovative, simple, and easy to operate, so it could help to promote the development of the frozen dough industry.

Impact of glucose oxidase on characteristics of corn dough with different frozen storage times

“…The presented data in Table 1 showed that frozen storage led to the significant ( P < 0.05) decrease in the proportions of deeply bound water (A 21 and A 22 , tightly bound to polymeric components) and free water (A 24 , very weakly bound to dough components), while the proportion of immobilised water (A 23 , bound to starch structures and other polymers) significantly ( P < 0.05) increased. These results suggested that the frozen storage resulted in water migration to immobilised water, which was consistent with previous results on frozen wheat dough (Chen et al., 2016; Yuan et al., 2021). The decrease in free water content might be due to the fact that frozen storage disrupted the uniform distribution of proton density both internally and on the surface of the dough, thus the vapour pressure difference force drove the loss of water from the dough surface into the air (Chen et al., 2016).…”

“…Adding 100 mg kg À1 , GOX had the most significant effect on improving the WHC of fresh and frozen corn dough. In addition, the WHC of all samples reduced with the extension of the frozen storage period, which might be due to the formation of ice crystals and ice recrystallization that disrupted the structural integrity of starch and protein in the dough, resulting in weaker binding of water to starch and protein as indicated by other authors too (Yuan et al, 2021). The WHC mainly characterises the ability of the starch to absorb water and swell, while the protein also plays a role (Xu et al, 2009).…”

“…The technology has been applied to bread, biscuits, pizza, steamed buns, dumpling wrappers and other flour products (Li et al., 2019). However, the production of ice crystals and the deterioration of crucial components caused by recrystallization during the freezing process affects the quality of frozen dough (Yuan et al., 2021). The most common approach to improve the quality of frozen dough at present is the addition of different improvers that can strengthen the structure of the gluten network and inhibit the growth of ice crystals.…”

Effects of different storage temperatures and time on frozen storage stability of steamed bread

“…The freezable water content of steamed bread storage at −6, −12, −18 and −24 °C for 4 weeks was significantly higher than that of steamed bread frozen at any temperature in the previous 3 weeks. The increase in Δ H suggested that frozen treatment caused the double helix structure in starch to be more crystalline and stable; thus, more energy was needed to destroy the more ordered structure 31 . It may be due to the weakening of the combination between protein or starch and water during frozen storage.…”

“…The increase in ΔH suggested that frozen treatment caused the double helix structure in starch to be more crystalline and stable; thus, more energy was needed to destroy the more ordered structure. 31 It may be due to the weakening of the combination between protein or starch and water during frozen storage. The continuous accumulation of water produces recrystallization, which make small ice crystals form large ice crystals and penetrate the gluten network structure, resulting in the decrease of water holding capacity and the increase of water loss rate and freezable water content, thus leading to the deterioration of product quality.…”