Frozen baguette bread dough II. Textural and sensory characteristics of baked product

• Textural and sensory properties of frozen dough breads were successfully measured.
• Flour protein contents/strength was correlated with panelists sensory evaluation.
• Bread hardness was the most textural parameter correlated to the sensory attributes.
• Strain Hardening index correlated significantly to breads quality parameters.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between rheological properties of frozen bread dough and textural and sensory properties of baked baguette breads. A uniaxial compression rheological technique was used to measure strain hardening indices (SHI) of dough made from different flours and stored at frozen state up to 45 days. Texture profile analysis (TPA) test was used for textural properties measurements, and the AACC method 74-30 we applied for sensory analysis. The results of sensory evaluation and texture profile test were consistent with the results of lubricated biaxial extension test. Bread texture properties such as hardness and chewiness increased as frozen dough storage time increased, reflecting the gluten network alteration. The control samples obtained the highest scores of sensory analysis, followed by frozen dough at day 1 of storage. The results also revealed that the dough made from flour with higher extraction percentage and stronger gluten had better resistance to variations induced by freezing process, frozen storage time and defrosting. A highly significant correlation was found between SHI of frozen dough during storage and all textural and sensorial properties of bread demonstrating the merit of this powerful rheological indicator to predict the bread-making quality of frozen doughs.