Impact of process conditions on the structure of pre-fermented frozen dough

The volume change of partially fermented dough exposed to refrigeration has been investigated. Lean dough pieces (70 g) were exposed to pre-fermentation at 30 °C during selected time to reach expansion ratios of 2, 3 and 4. The pre-fermented dough were exposed to cooling at 4 °C for 2 h. Dough pieces were then frozen, thawed and baked. The evolution of the volume of the dough during the different stages of the time–temperature history has been measured. Image analysis (cell distribution), of both pre-fermented dough in frozen state and baked bread obtained with these dough, were carried out and used to assess the impact of the degree of pre-fermentation on the stability of the dough and of the baked bread. Results showed that increasing the degree of pre-fermentation results in a reduction in the final dough and bread volume. Freezing applied to pre-fermented dough resulted in a baked bread with larger and less numerous gas cells. However, it was observed that applying a chilling step (4 °C for 120 min) before freezing the pre-fermented dough minimized the loss in bread volume (−40.5% vs. −27.5% in comparison to reference bread – direct baking).