BAKING

TECHNOLOGY

BREAD QUALITY
 INTRODUCTION
• If a number of different consumers were
asked what qualities they looked for in a
loaf of bread, they would all have different
views.

• It is soon recognized that bread quality is

very much an individual perception.
 INTRO…(cont’d)
• The subject of quality in bread is therefore
a contentious issue.

• Quality means different things to

different people, and no two people
share the same opinion about a particular
type of bread
 INTRO…(cont’d)

• However, cereal scientists and

technologists are able to identify certain
characteristics of each style of bread and

• Have determined the attributes that add to

quality and those that detract from it
 INTRO…(cont’d)

• Appearance is the first visual assessment

of a loaf, and
• key factors include the volume (size) of the
bread as well as the color, particularly that
of the crust and the shape of the loaf.
• The consumer is also likely to give the loaf
a squeeze to obtain an idea of the
softness so that a quick judgment can be
made of the freshness.
 INTRO…(cont’d)
• Color and softness of the crust are two
factors that are probably the key issues
when a consumer makes a choice at the
point of sale.

• There are a number of faults that are

observed in the external appearance of
loaves which are easily identified as
unacceptable.
What determines bread quality?
• The complex interactions of the raw
materials

• Their qualities and quantities used in the

recipe

• The dough processing method

REACTIONS DURING BAKING

• A number of reactions occur during bread

baking

• The major ones are the following:

1. Caramelization

• The thermal decomposition of sugars leading

to formation of volatiles (caramel aroma) and
brown-coloured products (caramel colours)

The compounds that are formed during

caramelization contribute to the different
flavors and tastes of breads
 Caramel…(cont’d)

• Caramel: Complex mixture of brown

flavouring/colouring substances produced
when sugars are heated above their
melting point during caramelization
2. Maillard reaction
• The thermal reaction of protein or amines
with carbohydrates.

• The end products of the reaction are

melanoidins
• a major source of aromatic and flavor
compounds that result from heat application
to certain food systems
 Maillard…

• Amino acids
+ Brown-coloured pigments
Reducing sugars

• The melanoidins are very important to the

perception of flavour in bread.
3. Starch gelatinization
• During the baking process, the starch
granules begin to swell at a temperature of
about 40°C.

• The viscoelastic properties of dough are

replaced by fluidity when the temperature
reaches the range of about 50-65°C
 Starch…(cont’d)
• In the initial stage of gelatinization, the starch
granules absorb both free water and water
held by the proteins of the dough, as the
starch granules swell and deform.

• However, a large proportion of granules

remain intact until the end of gelatinization
due to limitation of water supply
 Starch…(cont’d)

The extent of starch gelatinization is

influenced by:

– water availability
– temperature
– the duration of its action on starch
 Starch…(cont’d)

Q. What do you think would happen to the

gelatinization when the duration is longer?
 Starch…(cont’d)
• At the temperature of starch gelatinization
(65 0C), there is a transfer of water from the
protein to the starch, leading to a swelling of
the starch granules and

• a rapid increase in viscosity of the dough,

which sets the sponge structure.

• These physical changes lead to a change

from a closed cell foam structure to an open
cell sponge structure
4. Protein denaturation

• The gluten-forming proteins, binding

approximately 31% of the total water
absorbed by the dough, are present in the
dough in a hydrated state.

• They contribute to the formation of dough

structure by providing the matrix in which
small starch granules are embedded
 Protein…(cont’d)

• The proteins begin to undergo thermal

denaturation when the temperature of crumb
reaches about 60 – 70 °C.

• The denatured proteins start losing their

water-binding ability and

• release the water from protein to starch

 Protein…(cont’d)
• On the other hand, when the temperature
of dough rises above 74°C,

• the gluten films surrounding the individual

gas vacuoles are denatured by heat and

• transformed into a semi-rigid structure by

interaction with the swollen starch
5. Water movement
• During the first few minutes of baking, the
oven atmosphere reaches a moisture-
saturated condition.

• A slight water uptake by the dough occurs

at this time, as the steam condenses on its
surface
 Water…(cont’d)
• As the surface temperature exceeds the dew
point of the baking chamber atmosphere,
crust formation begins and the moisture in
the outer loaf layers turns into steam.

• Most of the steam evaporates into the air and

a small amount migrates into the interior of
the loaf
 6. Cell structure formation
• The characters of cell structure are influenced
primarily by other processing procedures prior
to baking.

• However, the baking conditions also have a

major influence on the cell structure
 Cell…(cont’d)

• If the crust of bread is formed prematurely,

it will limit loaf expansion, and

• the cells of the crumb will be disrupted due

to the thermal stress within the crumb.
7. Enzymatic activities
• With the beginning of swelling during baking,
the amylases accelerate their hydrolysis of
starch.

• However, these enzymes are inactivated

rapidly due to the high baking temperature.

• The starch amylolysis is stopped when all

amylases are inactivated.
 Enzymatic…(cont’d)

• In the early stage of baking, the amylases

contribute to two effects in the baking
process:

1.The amylases break up the starch structure

and cause the dough to become more
fluid
 Promotes dough expansion
 Enzymatic…(cont’d)

2.The starch is broken into small molecules,

increasing the levels of both dextrins and
maltose to be fermented by the yeast.

• Inadequate amylase reactions will cause

product defects.
 Enzymatic…(cont’d)

• Product volume will be reduced with low

levels of amylase activity;

conversely,

• Excessive amylase activity produces

overexpansion of the loaf
may cause the loaf to collapse
 Enzymatic…(cont’d)
• All enzymes, being proteins, are denatured by
heat.

• Denaturation inactivates enzymes and stops

their activity.

• Most enzymes are inactivated by temperatures

of about 70–80 0C, but they vary in their heat
sensitivity.
 Enzymatic…(cont’d)
• Before they are inactivated, however,
rising oven temperatures increase their
activity.

• This increased activity occurs in the early

stages of baking only.
QUALITY FACTORS/PARAMAETERS

a. External quality factors

– Loaf volume
– Oven spring
– Surface blisters
– Cutting dough surface
– Crust & crumb colour
1. Loaf Volume
• a good indication of the gas retention
properties of the dough.
• an indicator of:
– how good the flour protein is

– how efficiently the baker has:

• developed the gluten
• balanced the recipe and processing
requirements.
 Loaf…(cont’d)
• Low loaf volume can result from either:
– gas production or
– gas retention problems.

• Gas production is linked to yeast activity

• The gas retention properties of the dough

are linked to the ability of the gluten structure
to retain the carbon dioxide produced by the
yeast.
 Loaf…(cont’d)
• There are a number of factors that adversely
affect the gas holding properties of gluten:

1. low protein levels in the flour

2. poor dough development
3. lack of oxidation
4. cold or tight (incorrect consistency or rheology)
doughs
 Loaf…(cont’d)

• Low volume can also be linked to cold final

proof conditions or a short final proof.

• Underproved bread can be identified by

“cracking,” which may appear on the
surface of pan breads or on the lower third
of oven-bottom breads or rolls
”Cracking“ due to underproof
 Loaf…(cont’d)
• Excessive loaf volume is also a quality
issue

• causes problems during the packaging

and transportation stages of production,

• as well as sidewall collapse.

 Loaf…(cont’d)
Excessive volume can be linked to:

– Too high a protein level in the flour;

– Excessive yeast or an imbalance of yeast, salt,
and improver;
– High dough temperature;
– High final proof temperature;
– Excessive final proof time. possibly due to
delays in processing;
 Loaf…(cont’d)

– Excess dough scaling weight;

– Small baking tins, which will give the appearance
of excessive volume;
– Low baking temperature, which will cause the
yeast to continue producing carbon dioxide for
longer than required before being killed.

NB: A combination of any of the above will compound

the problem
2. Oven Spring
• a measure of the rise of the bread in the oven
during baking.

• Measured simply by measuring the height of

the bread after baking;
• assuming that the bread has been proved to a
standard height, the difference is the oven
spring
 Oven…(cont’d)
• Within the first few minutes of baking, the
volume of the dough increases rapidly and
reaches the maximum size of the loaf; and
this period is called oven rise or oven
spring

• At the end of oven spring, there is a sharp

increase in the rate of gas lost from the
loaf, which is due to the rapid coalescence
or rupture of the bubble cell walls.
 Oven…(cont’d)
• Oven spring is a good quality attribute
when it is controlled,

• uncontrolled oven spring has a detrimental

effect on finished bread quality.

• Excessive oven spring can lead to “flying

tops,” where

The top crust will detach itself from the main

body of the loaf
An example of ‘flying top’
3. Surface blisters
• Thin-walled blisters on the surface of the
baked bread indicate dough with poor gas
retention properties.

• The blisters may not be visible until after

baking, but in extreme cases the blisters
will be visible at the end of the final proof
 Surface…(cont’d)
• It is sometimes referred to as “fat failure” &
relates to the type and level of fat being used

• The fat helps to stabilize the bubbles within

the dough;
• The critical time for this is:
– at the end of final proof,
– during the transfer to the oven and
– at the beginning of the baking stage, when the
bubbles are expanding at their fastest
 Surface…(cont’d)

• The level of fat addition will change

depending on the flour characteristics;

• However, a level of 1% for white bread

and up to 4% for whole-meal bread is not
uncommon.
 Surface…(cont’d)
• In brown, whole-meal, germ, and multigrain
breads, the fat levels are increased because
the nonfunctional parts of the flour, such as
the bran, will cause greater bubble instability
in the dough.

• In addition to blisters, there may also be

reduced loaf volume and possibly no oven
spring, and the internal crumb structure may
show some compact areas that appear to be
firm to the touch.
4. Cutting dough surface

• After the final proof, some styles of bread

are cut on the surface of the dough.

• This is sometime seen as part of the

identification of the product

• However, this is not the only reason dough

surface is cut before baking.
 Cutting…(cont’d)

• Cutting increases the surface area, which

allows for a greater heat transfer into the
dough.

• When producing oven-bottom breads

cutting is very important, as there is no tin
to hold the shape, and a quick heat transfer
is essential to reduce the risk of flowing.
 Cutting…(cont’d)
• Cutting releases any tension in the dough
and creates regions of “weakness” to
facilitate dough expansion when it is put into
the oven.

• The region where the cut is made allows a

degree of control over the position of the
oven spring in the loaf.
 Cutting…(cont’d)
• It is recognized that flavor is more intense in
the crust.

• Cutting of the dough helps to increase the

crust area, and this has a beneficial impact on
the finished taste and crustiness of the bread.

• Cutting is not easy and is recognized as a

great skill.
 Cuts on the surface of French baguettes:
a. Good example, top b. Poor example, bottom
 5. Crust & crumb color
• The crust color is highly dependent on the
time and temperature of baking.

• It must also be remembered that the

components of the ingredients used in the
formulation have a big part to play.

• Flour plays an important role in the perceived

color of both the crumb and crust of a loaf
 Crust…(cont’d)
• The grade color of the flour will influence the crumb
color of bread.

• Grade color is dependent on the extraction rate and

the amount of chemical bleaching given to the flour

• The use of soy flour can also affect crumb color as it

contains the enzyme lipoxygenase, which reacts
with the carotenoid pigments in the flour to produce
a bleaching effect
 Crust…(cont’d)
• The amount of damaged starch in the flour
plays an important role on the extent of
color development in the bread crust.

• If flour contains low amounts of damaged

starch, there may only be sufficient sugars
released by the action of alpha-amylase for
yeast fermentation
Little or no sugar left for the Maillard rxn to
produce crust color during baking
 Crust…(cont’d)
• This scenario would be more likely in bulk
fermented doughs and in doughs that have
undergone excessive proof than in no-time
doughs.

• On the other hand, if there are high levels of

damaged starch, there will be excessive
levels of sugars released, which will cause
high coloring of the crust.
 Crust…(cont’d)
• Other ingredients that can affect crust color
are:
• Inclusion of milk powder or sugar in the
recipe.

• High alpha-amylase levels in the dough will

also break down the damaged starch
results in high residual sugar levels and high
crust color.
 b. Internal quality factors

 Crumb structure

 Open random structure

 Cell wall thickness

 Internal…(cont’d)
1. Crumb structure
• The crumb structure obtained will be
dependent on:

– the type of mixer used,

– the recipe formulation,
– atmospheric conditions at the end of mixing
– bulk fermentation time,
– intermediate proof time,
– final molding
 Crumb…(cont’d)
• It must always be borne in mind that the
bubble structure at the end of mixing
begins to expand shortly after it leaves the
mixer,

• and all subsequent processing stages are

designed to preserve and reorient the
bubbles.
2. Open random structure
• The amount of openness must be
controlled so as not to cause weakness
within the crumb

• An open crumb structure is an indication

that too much gas has been produced
during the final stages of processing.
 Open …(cont’d)
• The causes for too much gas production
might be:

• An imbalance in recipe formulation

between the yeast and the salt, sugars, or
preservatives

• Too high a dough temperature

(encouraging the yeast to work quickly);
 Open …(cont’d)

• Delay after mixing and before final molding

• With no-time dough, the period of time

between the scaling and final molding stage
should be no longer than 10 minutes,

• and the usual times are around 4-6 minutes

3. Cell wall thickness
• As the dough is processed after mixing the
aim is to maintain the bubble structure that
has been developed,

• but the subsequent processing steps can

damage these bubbles.

• The damaged bubbles will coalesce and

produce areas in the crumb that look grey
and dull in color and are firm to the touch
 Cell …(cont’d)
• Small shallow air cells with thin cell walls
reflect light more efficiently, thus producing a
whiter crumb;

• as the cell walls thicken, for example, due to

insufficient oxidation/development or damage
to the bubbles, the color of the crumb
becomes grey.

• When the bubbles burst, they merge into one

larger bubble with thicker cell walls
 Cell …(cont’d)
• The thickness of the wall influences both
visual and eating quality:

– Thicker cell walls give a grey looking crumb.

– Thick cell walls give a firm feel to the crumb, thus
influencing perceived shelf life.
– Thin cell walls give better reflection of light and
thus a whiter looking crumb.
 STALING OF BREAD
• Bread is a perishable product which is at its
best within a few hours of being baked

• During storage, a number of adverse

changes take place:

• These may be divided into two groups:

– Those that are chemical or physical in nature
– Those that are the results of microbiological
spoilage
 Staling…(cont’d)
• Changes that fall into the first category are
usually referred to by the comprehensive
term “staling”.
• Staling is a process by which foods cease
to be fresh or pleasant to eat

• It is a physico-chemical deterioration
leading to hard and crumbly texture and
loss of fresh-bake flavor.
 Staling…(cont’d)
• During staling, there are changes in a
number of physical properties of bread:

Changes in taste and aroma

• a general loss of flavour and development
of a dry “stale” taste
 Staling…(cont’d)

Increase in firmness

Increase in crumbliness

Increase in opacity
 Staling…(cont’d)
Increase in starch crystallinity
Decrease in the water absorption capacity
of crumb
Decrease in the amount of soluble starch
that can be leached out
Decreased susceptibility of starch to
amylases
Change in thermal properties
 Staling…(cont’d)
No single property can be used as an
absolute measure of staleness of bread

• The first four can be assessed subjectively

from the appearance, aroma and eating
quality of the bread

• The last five are determined by analytical

laboratory methods
 Staling…(cont’d)
• During the staling of bread, changes occur in
both crumb and crust.

• The crust, which in its fresh state is relatively

dry, crisp and brittle, becomes soft and
leathery on staling due to migration of water
from the crumb.
 Staling…(cont’d)

• The most obvious signs of staling are:

– Crumb firming
– Deterioration of flavour, aroma & and
texture
– Loss of crust crispiness

Crisp = pleasantly hard and dry