Cereal Chem 66:182-185   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Rheological Changes in Cracker Sponges During an 18-Hour Fermentation.

J. Y. Wu and R. C. Hoseney. Copyright 1989 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Of variables tested, the pH of cracker sponges was the most effective in reducing their resistance to extension. The effect was attributed to proteolytic enzymes, because the optimum pH of 4.1 coincides with the reported optimum pH of indigenous flour protease. A mixture of commercial gluten and wheat starch was used to study the effect of proteolytic enzymes. Their optimum pH for decreasing the resistance to extension ranged from 3.8 to 4.1. Relative enzyme activities were determined from the slope of the linear relationship between resistance to extension and time. The slopes showed that sponges at pH 4.1 and 3.5 had much greater enzyme activities than sponges at pH 4.7 and 2.7. Reconstituting an enzyme-free composited residue with enzyme extracts from several cracker flours showed that different flours differed in enzyme activity.