Milling overrides cultivar, leavening agent and baking mode on chemical and rheological traits and sensory perception of durum wheat breads

Abstract

Smell and aroma are important determinants of consumer acceptance, so gaining deeper insight into bread smell and aroma perception is a research goal. Sixteen combinations of four variables were investigated, to evaluate the contributions of bread chemical and rheological properties and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) towards sensory acceptability of breads: genotypes (landrace vs. modern); types of flour (wholemeal vs. semolina); leavening agents (brewing yeast vs. sourdough starter); and baking modes (gas-fired vs. wood-fired). Milling had the greatest impact over the other treatments for the rheological and chemical properties, including for VOCs, with great impact on the sensory traits of the flours and breads. The processing phases had great impact on smell and aroma, as defined through formation of alcohols, aldehydes, terpenes, and other compounds (e.g., ethylbenzene, 2-pentylfuran, methoxyphenyl oxime). Leavening agent had great impact on sensory perception, although breads from the sourdough starter were perceived as with lower taste and colour than the brewing yeast. Baking mode had no relevant role on sensory perception. These data strongly undermine the belief of a ‘better product’ that is frequently attributed to old genotypes versus modern cultivars, and indicate that the milling and the bread-making processes determine the quality of the end product.

Metabolomics Provides Valuable Insight for the Study of Durum Wheat: A Review

“…Notably, several studies of durum wheat metabolomics refer to the profiling of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for which the most used sampling technique was the solid phase microextraction (SPME) equipped with different types of fibers (e.g., DVB/Carboxen/PDMS 50/30 μm; − DVB/CAR/PDMS 65 μm; CAR/DVB 65 μm).…”

Influence of different leavening agents on technological and nutritional characteristics of whole grain breads obtained from ancient and modern flour varieties

“…Nevertheless, dough strength and tenacity resulted lower in the latter. As reported by several authors [22,23] the gluten content and quality, rather than protein content, is a predominant factor affecting dough technological quality, even though a direct relationship has not been demonstrated. Total phenolic content of flour methanolic extracts were higher in the two ancient wheat cultivar and led to a higher antioxidant capacity, hence improving their overall nutritional quality.…”

Lactobacillus plantarum with Broad Antifungal Activity as a Protective Starter Culture for Bread Production

“…In agreement with this finding, Makhoul et al [ 35 ], analyzing pro-technological microbe/matrix interactions during food fermentation, reported a greater impact of the microbial fraction on the volatile organic compounds of bread. However, the present work is only a preliminary study that should be further complemented by the analytical determination of the main physico-chemical parameters as well as the impact of a protective LAB culture on the organoleptic profile of the bread [ 36 , 37 ].…”