Cereal Chem 62:158-162   |  VIEW ARTICLE
Saltine Crackers: Changes in Cracker Sponge Rheology and Modification of a Cracker-Baking Procedure.

L. C. Doescher and R. C. Hoseney. Copyright 1985 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

A liquid starter (inoculum) was developed for use in cracker sponges. Slurries of only flour and water were not stable. When yeast was added, the system was stable but did not produce sponges with the desired pH of 4.1. To produce the most desirable inoculum, a mixture of flour, water, yeast, and sucrose (100:200:0.62:3) was fermented 18 hr, then fed with 20% flour, and fermented another 18 hr. The sponges produced with a 5% inoculum of this mixture reached a pH in the 4.1 range in 18 hr. The 18-hr cracker sponge fermentation is a critical step in the production of good quality crackers. Changes in the rheological properties of doughs were measured throughout the fermentation period using a Brabender extensigraph. Dough strength decreased as fermentation time increased. Significant changes in rheological properties occurred during the early hours of fermentation. During the later part of fermentation, when pH was low, a proteolytic enzyme native to the flour appeared to be active. The cracker test-baking procedure was modified to accommodate weaker flours and/or flours that were modified during sponge fermentation.