Cereal Chem 52:89r - 105r.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
Rheology and the Conventional Bread and Biscuit Making Process.

H. G. Muller. Copyright 1975 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

In this introductory paper, rheological methods and their relevance to the conventional bread- and biscuit- making process are outlined. After a brief historical introduction, a critical evaluation of both empirical and fundamental testing methods in presented. Finally, three aspects of the relation between rheology and baking receive attention. First, the statistical relation between dough tests and bread characteristics are considered. Shown is that the improvement in methodology over the past 35 years is reflected in improved correlation which is, however, still poor. Second, the meaning is explored of flour-water absorption and the relation between farinograph absorption on one hand, and protein and moisture content, starch damage, and alpha-amylase activity on the other, are discussed. Third, the concept of flour strength is considered. It is suggested that this is largely a reflection of the degree of cross linkage of the gluten-protein complex in the developed dough. It is suggested that much is known about the rheology of dough per se and also its relation to dough structure. However, when applied to bakery technology, the direct usefulness of dough rheology is very limited.