Cereal Chem 40:638 - 646.  |  VIEW ARTICLE

The Reaction Mechanism of Azodicarbonamide in Dough.

C. C. Tsen. Copyright 1963 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Azodicarbonamide (ADA) is a new flour-maturing agent. When mixed into doughs, it oxidized the sulfhydryl (-SH) groups and exerted an improving effect. The oxidation was rapid and almost complete during the mixing of dough for 2.5 min. Neither further mixing nor prolonged resting could give a significant and additional decrease in the -SH content. Because of its rapid reaction, ADA may possibly be used to replace iodate in a dough process where a faster maturing agent is required. ADA did not bleach flour pigments. Only slight variations in the pigment content were observed when doughs were treated with increasing amounts of ADA. From the reaction systems studied, the mole ratios of the reactants, GSH/ADA, thiogel -SH/ADA, and flour -SH/ADA, were found to be 1.79, 1.84, and 1.75, respectively; based on these ratios, the following chemical equation has been established to explain the maturing action of ADA: [equation).