Cereal Chem 38:281 - 290.  |  VIEW ARTICLE

The Oxidation of Wheat Flour. II. Effect of Sulfhydryl-Blocking Agents.

B. Sullivan, L. Dahle, and O. R. Nelson. Copyright 1961 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Certain sulfhydryl-blocking reagents not only shorten the mixing time of a flour, but also, when used in sufficient amounts to combine with -SH groups, eliminate the beneficial effect of maturing agents such as potassium bromate and.potassium iodate. Extensigraph and baking data show that both N-ethylmaleimide and p-chloromecuribenzoate increase extensibility and decrease resistance to extension as compared to the control; these effects are not changed when bromate or iodate is added after the addition of the -SH- blocking agents. This gives further support to the involvement of -SH groups in flour maturing. It is possible that intramolecular S-S bonds are changed to intermolecular S-S cross linkages by means of small amounts of -SH groups. Whereas the disulfide bonds may be primarily responsible for toughness and strength of a dough, there are undoubtedly weak linkages, such as thiolester, amide or hydrogen bonds, that require less energy to break and re-form.