The importance of the freshness of the texture of the bread – pay attention to the freshness of the bread!

When buying packaged bread, consumers should pay attention to various quality features such as the appearance of the product, the aroma and the sense of freshness of the bread texture. While we all expect bread to remain “fresh” throughout its shelf life, we may have different perceptions and expectations of freshness.

 

In general, it can be said that the expectation of what is “fresh” mostly refers to the quality of the texture of the bread. Freshness assessment of bread texture can be further analyzed. For some, the feeling of freshness comes from the softness or the springy property of the bread texture, for others, it comes from the moisture of the special stickyness of the bread texture.

 

How to evaluate the freshness of bread texture

Novelty can be evaluated in two ways:

 

First, with a sensory evaluation, where we evaluate the freshness of the product by hand.

Second, through mechanical measurement with a bread texture analyzer, which provides standardized measurements of softness or firmness parameters, elasticity and stickiness.

The staleness of bread is a process that consists of different physico-chemical events that occur during different times and lead to the hardening of the bread texture, the softening of the crust and the loss of the fresh taste of the product.

 

Starch, gluten and water, the main components of bread texture, undergo major changes during storage, leading to the production of a stale product. The role of starch has been widely investigated, and in particular starch retrogression contributes to the hardening of bread texture during storage, but considerable evidence is available that other factors, such as changes in the water and gluten networks, play a role in bread staleness. . A fundamental role in bread rancidity occurs in terms of macroscopic and molecular redistribution during storage and macroscopic migration of water from the bread tissue to the crust, but also at the molecular level water changes its location and state, partly in retrograde amylopectin crystals. is incorporated, loses phase separation and redistributes into the bread.

 

During bread storage, the gluten network is expected to undergo physical and chemical changes, which contribute to the bread becoming stale.

 

Alphamalt Fresh and Soft series is an enzyme solution to increase the sense of freshness in packaged products, and the product with this enzyme gives customers the same quality as baked bread that has just come out of the oven even a few days after production.