Food Research International 36 (2003) 365–372

www.elsevier.com/locate/foodres

Effect of frozen storage and freeze–thaw cycles on the rheological

and baking properties of frozen doughs
Monisha Bhattacharyaa,*, Tami M. Langstaffa, William A. Berzonskyb
a
Department of Cereal and Food Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105, USA
b
Department of Plant Sciences, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58105, USA

Received 14 July 2002; accepted 25 October 2002

Abstract
The effects of prolonged frozen storage and repeated partial freeze–thaw cycles on the rheological and baking properties of nine
commercial wheat cultivars were evaluated. The gluten strength of the cultivars ranged from medium to high, whereas the starch
swelling characteristics were similar for most cultivars, except Parshall, which exhibited exceptionally high swelling properties. The
doughs were subjected to frozen storage for 4–12 weeks, with and without freeze–thaw cycles. The enthalpy of freezable water was
significantly affected by initial freezing, whereas, the rheological properties of the doughs were more susceptible to freeze–thaw
cycles. After baking, all cultivars produced bread of acceptable quality, although cv. Parshall exhibited the highest crumb softness,
irrespective of the frozen treatment. Results indicate that flours with high starch swelling characteristics, along with moderately
high gluten strength, may be most ideal for producing optimum quality frozen doughs, with good shelf life and baking properties.
# 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Frozen dough; Freeze–thaw cycles; Starch; Gluten; Bread

1. Introduction Bushuk, 1991, 1992). Flour protein strength was found

Demand and market opportunities for value-added
wheat-based products have been growing rapidly over
the past few decades. The frozen dough market has
steadily grown in recent years due to consumer demand
for convenience and high quality baked products.
Dough strength and frozen storage play an important
role in the quality of bread produced from frozen
doughs, since they must withstand harsh freezing and
thawing conditions. The ice crystals formed during fro-
zen storage and repeated freeze–thaw cycles reportedly
causes physical damage to the gluten protein structure
(Varriano-Marston, Hsu, & Mahdi, 1980), resulting in
the weakening of hydrophobic bonds, redistribution of
water in the dough gluten network (Räsänen, Blan-
shard, Mitchell, Derbyshire, & Autio, 1998), loss of gas
retention (Autio & Sinda, 1992; Berglund, Shelton, &
Freeman, 1991), and poor loaf volume (Inoue &
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-701-231-7737; fax: +1-701-231-
7723.
E-mail address: monisha.bhattacharya@ndsu.nodak.edu
(M. Bhattacharya).
0963-9969/03/$ - see front matter # 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0963-9969(02)00228-4
to be more important than flour protein content for
optimum frozen dough quality (Inoue & Bushuk, 1991;
Wolt & D’Appolonia, 1984b). Yeast survival and gas
retention in dough after prolonged storage are other
major problems in frozen dough production. Yeast via-
bility or gassing power is strongly affected by freezing
rate and frozen storage temperatures (Bender & Lamb,
1977), frozen storage time (Berglund & Shelton, 1993),
and freeze–thaw cycles (Hsu, Hoseney, & Seib, 1979).
Freezable water, or the fraction of free water that
does not bind to gluten during dough formation, freezes
when the dough is subjected to frozen storage (Davies &
Webb, 1969). Berglund et al. (1991) observed that
dough subjected to prolonged frozen storage encoun-
tered water migration with concomitant dough dete-
rioration. Lu and Grant (1999a) compared the freezable
water content of doughs made from an extra strong
hard red spring wheat cultivar, and a weak wheat culti-
var, after subjecting the doughs to 16 weeks of frozen
storage. The amount of freezable water was found to be
significantly higher in the extra strong wheat, suggesting
that while strong flours are necessary for frozen dough
production, extremely strong gluten may be detrimental
366 M. Bhattacharya et al. / Food Research International 36 (2003) 365–372
because of the formation of a high amount of freezable
water in the dough.
Dough extension properties are very important when
evaluating frozen doughs because they influence oven
spring and loaf volume of the final baked product. Wolt
and D’Appolonia (1984a) found a decrease in exten-
sibility with an increase in frozen storage time, which was
attributed to overall gluten network deterioration. Inoue
and Bushuk (1991) observed no significant changes in
rheological properties during short-term storage. How-
ever, repeated freeze–thaw cycles produced a significant
decrease in dough resistance and an increase in dough
extensibility. They concluded that doughs made from
strong flours are generally resistant to freeze damage, but
severe processing conditions, such as repeated freeze–
thaw cycles, could significantly weaken dough structure.
The type of wheat flour used for frozen dough pro-
duction is crucial in imparting desirable baking charac-
teristics after prolonged frozen storage. Hard red spring
(HRS) wheat is preferred for making different bread and
frozen dough products because of its superior gluten
strength. However, not all HRS wheat cultivars that
possess superior bread baking traits produce bread of
comparable quality after frozen storage, possibly due to
higher susceptibility of some cultivars to harsh proces-
sing and frozen storage conditions (Lu & Grant, 1999b).
Frozen dough manufacturers generally use a blend of
some popular bread wheat genotypes for frozen dough
production, which often leads to inconsistency in quality
due to lack of adequate information about ideal quality
attributes (personnel communication). Lack of know-
ledge of the performance of different commercial wheat
cultivars in a frozen dough system makes it difficult for
frozen dough manufacturers to select superior, identity-
preserved wheat cultivars, for consistently producing
high quality frozen dough. The objectives of this study
were to (1) study the effects of prolonged frozen storage
and partial freeze–thaw cycles on the rheological and
baking properties of selected popular bread wheat cul-
tivars; and (2) determine flour quality attributes asso-
ciated with improved end-use quality and frozen storage
stability, so as to provide criteria for selection of
improved cultivars for frozen dough markets in the
future.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Wheat cultivars and sampling
Eight regionally adapted commercial hard red spring
(HRS) wheat cultivars, with acceptable bread making
quality, were evaluated for their performance in a fro-
zen dough system. The cultivars included Alsen, Argent,
Grandin, McNeal, Oxen, Parshall, Russ, and Trenton.
These HRS cultivars were selected for their high gluten
strength, a prerequisite for making frozen doughs. A
Canadian Western Extra Strong Red Spring (CWESRS)
wheat, Glenlea, known to maintain good oven spring
and high loaf volume after prolonged frozen storage
(Inoue & Bushuk, 1992), was included for comparison.
All nine cultivars were grown at two locations, Prosper
and Casselton, situated within 20 miles of each other in
the southeastern region of North Dakota. Each cultivar
had two replications at each location.
Wholemeal samples were obtained by grinding kernels
on an Udy Cyclone Mill (UD Corp., Boulder, CO), fit-
ted with a 1 mm screen. Flour samples were obtained by
tempering the grains to 15.5% moisture for 16 h before
milling into straight-grade flour on a Buhler laboratory
mill. All flour samples were placed in plastic bags and
kept at room temperature for 2 weeks to condition the
flour before conducting quality evaluations.
2.2. Physicochemical analyses of wholemeal and flour
Wholemeal samples were tested for falling number
values using AACC Approved Method 56-81B (2000).
The moisture content of the flour samples was deter-
mined using AACC Approved air oven method 44-15A
(2000). Protein content (14% mb) of the flours was
determined using the combustion method with a Leco
FP428 nitrogen analyzer (St. Joseph, MI) according to
Approved Method 46-30 (AACC, 2000). Rheological
properties of the dough samples were determined with
the Brabender farinograph according to Approved
Method 54-21 (AACC, 2000). Parameters recorded were
water absorption of flour (%) (14% mb), peak time
(time between the addition of water and development of
maximum consistency of the dough), mixing stability
(the time in minutes that the farinogram remained
horizontal on the 500 BU line), and time to breakdown
(the time in minutes from the start of mixing to the time
at which consistency decreased 30 BU from the peak
point).
2.3. Flour swelling volume
Flour samples (0.4 g, dwb) were mixed with 12.5 ml of
1 mM AgNO3 in 125  16 mm Pyrex culture tubes and
heated at 92.5  C for 30 min, following the procedure of
Bhattacharya, Jafari-Shabestari, Qualset, and Corke
(1997). The samples were cooled in ice water bath for 1
min, and centrifuged at 1000  g for 15 min. The swel-
ling volume was calculated by converting the height of
the resultant gels to a volume basis, and the results were
recorded as ml/g of dry flour.
2.4. Rapid visco analyzer
Pasting profiles were determined on wholemeal sam-
ples using a Rapid Visco-Analyser (RVA) Model 4
 M. Bhattacharya et al. / Food Research International 36 (2003) 365–372
(Newport Scientific, Narrabeen, Australia) in presence
of 1 mM AgNO3 to eliminate possible a-amylase activity
(Bhattacharya & Corke, 1996). In an earlier study, it
was established that wholemeal was a reliable alter-
native to flour or starch when samples available for
testing were limited (Bhattacharya & Corke, 1996).
Wholemeal (4 g, 14% mb) was mixed with 25 g of 1 mM
AgNO3 solution in a RVA canister. A standardized
heating and cooling cycle was employed according to
the method of Bhattacharya et al. (1997). Parameters
recorded were peak viscosity (PV), hot paste viscosity
(HPV), breakdown (PV-HPV), cold paste viscosity
(CPV) and setback (CPV-HPV). All measurements were
replicated twice and the results were reported in Rapid
Visco Units (RVU).
2.5. Dough preparation and frozen dough treatments
Flour samples (400 g per sample) were mixed to opti-
mum using a no-time dough mixing procedure (Inoue &
Bushuk, 1991). The baking formula (flour basis) was:
100 g flour (14% mb), 5 g compressed yeast, 4 g short-
ening, 4 g sugar, 1.5 g salt, 100 ppm ascorbic acid, and
50 ppm potassium bromate (Lu & Grant, 1999b). The
water added to form optimum dough was calculated as
the water absorption of flour obtained on the farino-
graph, minus 4%, which resulted in better machinability
and reduced stickiness for moulding and sheeting.
Sugar, salt, and oxidants were pre-dissolved in chilled
water (part of the total water amount). Dough tem-
perature was maintained at about 20  C by utilizing ice
water, and a chilled mixing bowl. A common check
sample was included with every batch of dough mixed
per day to ensure that experimental error was kept to a
minimum. The dough was divided into four 160 g pie-
ces, rounded, and rested for 10 min at 4  C. After
sheeting and molding, three dough pieces were placed
into pans, and were subjected to a 23  C freezer until a
core dough temperature of 5  C was maintained. The
frozen dough pieces were then depanned, bagged in
freezer bags, and stored in a 23  C freezer for different
time periods. The fourth dough piece (control) was
baked on the same day without being subjected to any
frozen treatment.
The dough pieces were subjected to the following four
frozen storage treatments: (1) control, no frozen sto-
rage, (2) frozen storage for 4 weeks, with no freeze–thaw
cycle prior to baking, (3) frozen storage for 12 weeks,
with no freeze–thaw cycle during the frozen storage, and
(4) frozen storage for 12 weeks, with two freeze–thaw
treatments, one after 4 weeks and one after 8 weeks of
frozen storage. A freeze–thaw cycle was established as
partially thawing the dough at 4  C for 8 h, after which
the panned dough piece was subjected to frozen storage
again. Each frozen storage treatment had four repli-
cations per cultivar (two locations  two replications).
367
At the end of the storage time, the doughs were thawed
and baked as described later.
2.6. Dough quality testing
An identical set of dough samples were prepared
under similar conditions, and subjected to the same four
treatments. Samples were evaluated for thermal and
rheological changes in gluten properties during frozen
storage and freeze–thaw cycles by physical dough mea-
surements. The control sample was tested after the
molding step, while the frozen doughs were thawed, but
not proofed before the analysis. Each frozen storage
treatment had four replications per cultivar.
Freezable water of the dough was measured after each
frozen storage treatment using a DSC (DSC-220C,
Seiko Instrument Inc., Tokyo, Japan), following the
method of Lu and Grant (1999a). The control and
thawed dough pieces were weighed (5.0 mg, dwb)
directly into an aluminum pan and hermetically sealed.
The sample pan was run with an empty crucible for
reference. The sample was frozen to 50  C using liquid
nitrogen, and then heated to 50  C at the rate of 10  C/
min. The enthalpy (
H) of the endothermic freezable
water transition was recorded as the energy change that
occurred during the melting of ice in the frozen dough.
Dough micro-extension testing was done using a
TA.XT2 texture analyzer, equipped with SMS/Kieffer
dough and gluten extensibility rig, following the method
of Suchy, Lukow, and Ingelin (2000) with slight modifi-
cations. The thawed dough was placed into a Ziploc bag
and allowed to equilibrate at 4  C for 15 min. A small
portion of the dough was placed into a Teflon-coated
block, lined with parafilm, and cut into dough strips
using the mould. The dough strips were allowed to rest
for an additional 15 min at 4  C, before being stretched
by the hook extension at the speed of 3.3 mm/s for a
distance of 100 mm. Parameters, dough extensibility
(mm) from start to rupture, and maximum resistance
(g), the maximum height of the curve, were auto-
matically calculated by the data processing software
supplied with the instrument.
2.7. Baking quality testing
At the end of the storage period, the frozen dough
pieces were removed from the freezer, placed in greased
pans, and allowed to retard at 4  C for 13 h. Following
thawing, the dough pieces were placed into a proof box
at 30  C, 85% RH. Time required to proof the dough
pieces to a desired proof height of  3 cm above the pan
sidewall was recorded. The dough pieces were then
baked at 220  C for 25 min. Bread loaves were allowed
to cool for a minimum of 1 h prior to further testing.
Loaf volume was determined by rapeseed displacement
after 1 h of oven exit. Crust color, crumb color, and
368 M. Bhattacharya et al. / Food Research International 36 (2003) 365–372

grain and texture were evaluated by visual comparison Table 1

to a standard using constant illumination source. Each Physicochemical and rheological properties of the wheat cultivarsa
loaf was scored using a scale of 1–10, with 10 repre- Cultivars Protein Farinograph
senting the highest quality. The central slices of each (%)
loaf were used to measure crumb firmness using the Absorption Stability Time to Peak
TA.XT2 texture analyzer, following AACC Approved (%) (min) breakdown time
(min) (min)
Method 74-09 (2000).
Alsen 16.6 66.0 15.8 17.8 9.9
2.8. Statistical analysis Argent 16.9 66.0 13.5 14.0 8.1
Glenlea 16.5 63.8 18.1 19.8 13.6
Grandin 16.5 66.5 14.8 17.5 9.5
Data were analyzed using the general linear model pro- McNeal 16.1 66.4 18.1 18.8 7.8
cedure of Statistical Analysis System (SAS) (ver. 6.10, Oxen 15.8 64.3 15.4 18.0 10.1
SAS Institute, Cary, NC). For each dependent variable, Parshall 16.7 65.1 14.1 17.0 9.4
the error mean squares from each location were tested for Russ 16.5 66.8 14.5 16.0 9.5
homogeneity of error variance at P< 0.001, to determine Trenton 16.8 65.9 15.8 19.8 11.2
if experiments could be combined across locations. If the Mean 16.5 65.6 15.6 17.6 9.9
dependent variable was non-significant, the two locations LSD (P <0.05) 0.3 0.8 2.7 2.8 1.5
were analyzed as a combined ANOVA. Fisher’s least a
Mean values represent nine genotypes and four replicates (n=36).
significance difference (LSD) test was used to separate
means at the 5% significance level. Dough and baking
data were analyzed following a randomized complete took comparatively less time to form optimum dough.
block design (RCBD) with factorial arrangement of Frozen dough production generally employs a rapid,
nine genotypes and four frozen storage treatments. no-time dough method, so as to minimize yeast fer-
mentation during dough preparation (Inoue & Bushuk,
1991). Flours with extremely long mixing times are
3. Results and discussion generally not desirable since they promote excessive
heat build-up due to the motion of the mixing blades,
3.1. Flour quality characteristics which is detrimental on the yeast cells (Marston, 1978;
Merritt, 1960). Therefore, the dough mixing charac-
The cultivar  location interaction was found to be teristics of McNeal, as characterized by high gluten
non-significant, and therefore the results presented in strength and short mixing time, was found to be opti-
this study consisted of data combined across two loca- mum for frozen dough production.
tions. As expected with commercial bread wheat culti- Parshall displayed a mean FSV value of 69.3 ml/g,
vars, all cultivars in this study exhibited high protein which was significantly different from the other culti-
content, ranging from 15.8% in Oxen to 16.9% in vars. All other cultivars exhibited values ranging from
Argent, with a mean of 16.5% (db) (Table 1). Farino- 44.8 to 49.3 ml/g (Table 2). The RVA data corroborate
graph absorption of the cultivars ranged from 63.8 to FSV data, with Parshall exhibiting pasting charac-
66.8%. Alsen, Argent, Grandin, McNeal, and Russ had teristics that were significantly different compared with
the highest absorption (66.0–66.8%), Parshall and the other cultivars. Parshall displayed extremely high
Trenton displayed intermediate values (65.1–65.9%, peak viscosity (259 RVU) and breakdown values (153
respectively), while Oxen and Glenlea displayed the RVU), and low setback (114 RVU) value (Table 2).
lowest (64.3 and 63.8%, respectively) (Table 1). Mixing Higher peak and lower setback values have been often
stability, which measures the tolerance of a dough to associated with partial waxy wheat containing low
mechanical shear by the mixing blades, and hence indi- amylose content (Moss, 1980; Wang & Seib, 1996).
cates gluten strength, ranged from 13.5 min in Argent, Synthesis of amylose in starch is predominantly con-
to 18.1 min in McNeal and Glenlea (Table 1). Time to trolled by waxy (wx) proteins known as granule-bound
breakdown, which is directly proportional to gluten starch synthase (GBSS) (Miura & Sugawara, 1996).
strength, ranged widely among the cultivars. Argent Additional tests are currently being conducted in our
exhibited the shortest (14.0 min), while McNeal, Trenton, laboratory to assess the unique starch swelling properties
and Glenlea displayed the longest time to breakdown of Parshall and to validate its waxy trait by determining
(18.8 and 19.8 min, respectively) (Table 1). Peak time if it lacks one or more genes for production of GBSS.
ranged from 7.8 min in McNeal to 13.6 min in Glenlea
(Table 1). In spite of their similar mixing strength, 3.2. Dough quality characteristics
Glenlea and McNeal displayed different dough mixing
times. This suggests that the gluten network of McNeal DSC was used to measure the freezable water con-
was not as tough and inextensible as Glenlea, and it tent of the dough pieces subjected to different time and
 M. Bhattacharya et al. / Food Research International 36 (2003) 365–372 369

Table 2 shown). However, Lu and Grant (1999a) observed that

Flour swelling volume and RVA pasting parameters of the wheat cul- wheat genotypes with extremely high gluten strength
tivarsa
displayed a consistent increase in freezable water with
Cultivars FSVb RVA pasting characterisitics (RVU) increase in frozen storage time, possibly due to a greater
association of water molecules with the nonpolar and
Peak Breakdown Setback
viscosity
polar amino acids of the flour protein. They concluded
that the gluten strength of wheat genotypes significantly
Alsen 49.3 184 93 115 affected the quality of frozen dough, and the subsequent
Argent 46.0 182 76 133
baked end product. This discrepancy in results could be
Glenlea 44.8 164 56 144
Grandin 45.0 164 63 129 attributed to the different genotypes used in the two
McNeal 45.5 178 60 146 studies. Lu and Grant (1999a) compared genotypes
Oxen 45.3 168 59 139 ranging widely in their gluten strength, so as to evaluate
Parshall 69.3 259 153 114 their susceptibility to frozen storage, whereas the cur-
Russ 48.8 174 74 132
rent study evaluated some top-ranking commercial cul-
Trenton 48.5 190 82 136
tivars with a narrow range of high gluten strength,
Mean 49.2 185 80 132 which subsequently resulted in a non-significant range
LSD (P< 0.05) 1.8 7.9 5.8 7.1
of freezable water content during frozen storage.
a
Mean values represent nine genotypes and four replicates (n=36). Extensibility of the thawed doughs did not change
b
FSV=flour swelling volume (ml/g) significantly as the storage time increased from day 0 to
week 4 (Table 3). However, at week 12, there was a
temperature treatments. Across treatments, the mean small increase in dough extensibility, followed by a fur-
freezable water content of the doughs was found to be ther significant increase in the presence of freeze–thaw
76 J/g on day 0, which increased substantially to 84 J/g cycles (Table 3), suggesting dough weakening. Similarly,
after 4 weeks, and to 86 J/g after 12 weeks of frozen Inoue and Bushuk (1992) observed a gradual increase in
storage (Table 3). Thus, the largest increase in the extensibility with frozen storage for up to 10 weeks. The
enthalpy of freezable water occurred during the initial maximum resistance of the doughs increased steadily as
frozen storage, from day 0 to week 4. This moisture the storage time increased from day 0 to week 12, in the
migration and increase in freezable water immediately absence of freeze–thaw cycles (Table 3), possibly due to
after freezing was attributed to the deterioration of glu- the stiffening of the doughs during frozen storage (Var-
ten network as a result of initial exposure of dough to riano-Marston et al., 1980; Wolt & D’Appolonia,
extremely low freezing temperatures. There was a fur- 1984a). However, in the presence of freeze–thaw cycles,
ther increase in the enthalpy of freezable water in pre- the doughs showed a significant drop in maximum
sence of two partial freeze–thaw cycles within 12 weeks resistance (Table 3), possibly due to ice crystallization
(Table 3). This could be attributed to the melting and during freeze–thaw cycles (Inoue & Bushuk, 1992).
recrystallization of ice during freeze–thaw cycles, with Based on the micro-extensigraph results, we infer that
subsequent damage to the gluten network and separa- maximum gluten damage of frozen doughs occur mostly
tion of water molecules (Autio & Sinda, 1992; Kulp, under the influence of repeated temperature fluctuations
1995). The wheat cultivars used in the present study did during freeze–thaw cycles, compared to storage at con-
not differ significantly among each other in their freez- stant frozen temperature. The moisture migration or
able water content during frozen storage (data not enthalpy of freezable water on the other hand, was more
strongly influenced by the initial exposure of the doughs
Table 3
to frozen storage, followed by a more gradual increase
Enthalpy of freezable water, dough extensibility and maximum resis- under the impact of freeze–thaw cycles.
tance of frozen dough as affected by frozen storage and freeze–thaw
cyclesa 3.3. Baking quality characteristics
Treatment Freezable Extensibility Maximum
water (mm) resistance It is generally accepted that as frozen storage time
(J/g) (g) increases, proof time of the dough also increases (Inoue
Day 0 (control) 76 c 36 c 89 c
& Bushuk, 1992; Lu & Grant, 1999b; Wolt & D’Appo-
Week 4 84 b 36 c 95 b lonia, 1984a,b). This increase in proof time has been
Week 12 86 b 37 b 110 a attributed to low freezing temperatures, which sig-
Week 12+FTCb 89 a 40 a 95 b nificantly decrease the viable yeast cell count, thereby
a reducing the gassing power (Kline & Sugihara, 1968). In
Mean values represent nine genotypes and four replicates (n=36).
Means within columns followed by common letters are not sig- this study, a significant increase in proof time was
nificantly different at P <0.05. observed with an increase in frozen storage time, and
b
FTC=two freeze–thaw cycles. ranged from a mean of 85 min on day 0–108 min at
370 M. Bhattacharya et al. / Food Research International 36 (2003) 365–372

week 4 (Table 4). At week 12, there was a further
increase in proof time, possibly due to an additional
reduction in viable yeast cells. However, doughs sub-
jected to freeze–thaw cycles during 12 weeks of storage
did not show significantly higher proof times compared
to doughs not subjected to any freeze–thaw cycle (139
min vs. 136 min, respectively) (Table 4). These results
suggest that the increase in proof time was more
strongly affected by extended frozen storage, than due
to freezing and thawing. Our results are in agreement
with the findings of Bruinsma and Giesenschlag (1984)
who observed that yeast activity was not appreciably
reduced after consecutive freeze–thaw cycles, and there-
fore attributed the increase in proof time to significant
destruction of normal dough structure during freezing.
Loaf volume typically decreases with an increase in
frozen storage (Inoue & Bushuk, 1992; Wolt &
D’Appolonia, 1984b). In this study, the effect of geno-
typic differences on loaf volume was non-significant,
whereas, the effect of frozen treatments was small, but
statistically significant. The average loaf volume at week
4 was 924 cc, which was not significantly different from
the volume at day 0 (Table 4). At week 12, there was a
significant decrease in loaf volume compared to week 4,
irrespective of the freeze–thaw cycles (Table 4). This was
consistent with the trends observed with the proof time
data, again signifying that the cultivars examined were
not as greatly affected by temperature fluctuations dur-
ing storage, as they were by ice recrystallization during
prolonged frozen storage. Except for crust color, no
significant differences were evident in bread scores for
external and internal characteristics of the loaves. The
overall visual quality characteristics of the frozen
doughs were minimally affected by prolonged frozen
storage and freeze–thaw cycles (Table 4), which are in
agreement with the findings by Nemeth, Paulley, and
Preston (1996). In contrast, Wolt and D’Appolonia
(1984b) found an open and gummy grain and crumb
texture, which significantly decreased the bread scores
with prolonged storage.
Crumb softness, which is a desirable quality char-
acteristic, was significantly different among cultivars,
independent of the frozen treatments. On Day 0, Glen-
lea, Oxen, and McNeal displayed undesirably higher
crumb firmness, Alsen, Argent, Grandin, Russ, and
Trenton displayed intermediate firmness, whereas Par-
shall exhibited the softest crumb texture (Table 5). At
week 4, most cultivars displayed a substantial increase
in crumb firmness, except McNeal, which did not show
any change, irrespective of frozen storage or freeze–
thaw cycles (Table 5). Interestingly, the doughs stored
for 12 weeks displayed lower crumb firmness similar to
the control, irrespective of the freeze–thaw cycles
(Table 5). Lu and Grant (1999b) reported that crumb
firmness was influenced by the gluten strength of frozen
dough. Doughs made from extremely strong flour
resulted in firmer crumb texture due to restricted starch
swelling during baking.
The crumb softness exhibited by Parshall was mark-
edly different from all other cultivars. Despite its gra-
dual increase in firmness values from day 0 to week 12,
the overall mean values were significantly lower than the
other cultivars for all frozen treatments (Table 5). Most
of the cultivars evaluated in this study possessed desir-
able gluten characteristics for producing bread of opti-
mum quality (Table 1), and yet the crumb softness of
these cultivars varied widely in a frozen dough system.
This disparity in performance among cultivars could be
attributed to the influence of other flour components,
such as variation in the starch pasting characteristics
(Seib, 2000). The gluten strength of Parshall was not
appreciably higher than the other samples (Table 1), but
it had the highest starch swelling capacity among all the
cultivars (Table 2). Possibly, the higher starch swelling
characteristics of Parshall was responsible for its super-
ior frozen dough quality, signifying the role of starch, in
Table 5
Crumb firmness of bread baked from frozen dough as affected by
frozen storage and freeze–thaw cyclesa

Genotypes Crumb firmness

Table 4 Day 0 Week 4 Week 12 Week 12
Bread baking characteristics of frozen dough as affected by frozen +FTCb
storage and freeze–thaw cyclesa
Alsen 42 45 44 40
Treatment Proof Loaf Crust Crumb Grain Argent 42 48 42 41
time volume colorb colorb and Glenlea 58 62 53 55
(min) (cc) textureb Grandin 45 55 49 48
McNeal 52 52 52 52
Day 0 (control) 85 c 931 a 9.6 a 9.2 a 9.2 a
Oxen 53 58 55 60
Week 4 108 b 924 a 9.4 b 9.1 a 9.0 a
Parshall 31 36 38 32
Week 12 136 a 909 b 9.1 c 9.0 a 9.1 a
Russ 43 57 53 47
Week 12+FTCc 139 a 903 b 9.0 c 9.0 a 9.1 a
Trenton 43 56 47 45
a
Mean values represent nine genotypes and four replicates (n=36). Mean 45 52 48 47
Means within columns followed by common letters are not sig- LSD (P <0.05) 4.5
nificantly different at P <0.05.
b a
Scores ranged from 0 to 10, with 10 being the best. Mean values represent nine genotypes and four replicates (n=36).
b
c
FTC=two freeze–thaw cycles. FTC=two freeze–thaw cycles.
 M. Bhattacharya et al. / Food Research International 36 (2003) 365–372
addition to gluten strength, on crumb softness. We
speculate that the unique starch swelling properties of
Parshall may have facilitated higher water retention
within the starch granules during baking, and contri-
buted to its desirable crumb softness. Conversely, the
doughs possessing medium to low starch swelling capa-
city may have been less effective at imbibing the water
released from the gluten network during thawing and
baking (Hoseney, 1998), resulting in a comparatively
firmer and compact bread crumb structure. Results
suggest that flours with moderately strong gluten and
high starch swelling capacity would be ideal in providing
structural integrity to the dough during frozen storage,
and desirable crumb softness after baking. Additional
research is being conducted in our laboratory to evalu-
ate the quality of frozen doughs made from blends of
waxy and normal wheat genotypes, possessing a
broader range of starch pasting characteristics, so as to
further validate the significance of starch on the texture
and staling of frozen dough (Bhattacharya, Erazo,
Doehlert, & McMullen, 2002). Moreover, the influence
of diverse growing locations on the protein and starch
quality parameters in relation to frozen dough is also
being evaluated.
Traditionally, bread wheat genotypes were screened
based on their protein quality and quantity alone, as it
related closely with good loaf volume. Presently, manu-
facturers and consumers are more cognizant to quality,
and are prepared to pay a higher premium for superior
products. Consequently, it is imperative for wheat pro-
ducers and breeders to develop elite bread wheat culti-
vars with value-added quality characteristics to meet
this need. By screening for diversity in starch swelling
properties, in addition to protein quality, breeders and
producers would be better equipped to respond faster to
new market demands and create unique niche for iden-
tity preserved wheat cultivars for various end uses, such
as frozen dough.
Acknowledgements
We appreciate the financial support by the North
Dakota Wheat Commission, the State Board of Agri-
cultural Research and Education, and the Spring Wheat
Bakers. Technical assistance by the NDSU Cereal
Science HRS Wheat Quality team and the statistical
advice of Dr. Richard Horsley are gratefully appreciated.
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