Cereal Chem 68:353-356   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Steamed Bread. III. Role of Lipids.

Y. Pomeranz, M. Huang, and G. L. Rubenthaler. Copyright 1991 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The effects on volume, compressibility (softness), and overall score of Chinese steamed bread of flour lipids, shortening and vegetable oils, and emulsifiers (hydroxylated lecithin, distilled monoglycerides, and ethoxylated monoglycerides [EMG]) added to an untreated and a petroleum ether defatted soft white wheat flour were determined. Defatting significantly reduced volume and softness of steamed bread. The control, defatted, and reconstituted flours showed a shortening response. Doubling the amount of added free lipids (from 0.86 to 1.72%) had no additional restoring effect beyond that from reconstituting the defatted flour to the original level of free lipids. Shortening at the 2% level provided the best steamed bread; replacing shortening by soybean or corn oil produced comparable breads. In defatted flour, 0.1% EMG and especially 0.2% hydroxylated lecithin, alone or in combination with 2% shortening, increased volume and improved softness; each was superior to shortening alone. Adding 0.1% EMG and especially 0.2% lecithin to defatted flour baked with 1 or 2% corn oil increased volume and softness of steamed bread. None of the combinations among lecithin, EMG, or distilled monoglycerides was superior to any of the single emulsifiers.