Application of response surface methodology for the optimization of oxidants in wheat flour

The objective of this study was to apply the statistical technique known as response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the proportion between three oxidant compounds compromising lipoxygenase enzymes (x1), benzoyl peroxide (x2) and ascorbic acid (x3) on wheat flour colour and some rheological characteristics of the dough. P, L and W parameters were obtained using a “Chopin” alveograph. Flour colour, characterized by brightness (Lc) and hue (b), was measured using a HunterLab colorimeter and was ranked visually by selected judges. Three regression models were fitted to the dependent variables P, L and Lc and showed non-significant lack of fit (p > 0.114) with an elevated determination coefficient (0.92, 0.84 and 0.94, respectively). A mixture containing 0.27% of x1, 4.80 ppm of x2 and 325 ppm of x3 was obtained from the regression optimization and used for validating the models. These results suggest that, instead of the empirical methods, RSM can be applied to determine the optimal proportion between oxidant compounds normally used to improve colour and rheological parameters in wheat flour.