The impact of redox agents on further dough development, relaxation and elastic recoil during lamination and fermentation of multi-layered pastry dough

The role of gluten proteins during lamination and fermentation of multi-layered wheat flour pastry dough was examined by including oxidizing or reducing agents in the recipe to respectively strengthen or weaken the gluten protein network. Pastry burst rig textural measurements showed that dough strength increases during lamination up to 16 fat layers. However, further lamination up to 64 and 128 fat layers decreases the dough strength, most likely due to destruction of layer integrity. Redox agents strongly affect dough strength. Furthermore, fermentation and spread tests showed that they strongly influence elastic recoil immediately after lamination and during relaxation. Moreover, elastic recoil consistently occurs to a greater extent in the final direction of sheeting. None of the observed changes in dough strength and relaxation behaviour could be linked to changes in the levels of protein extractable in sodium dodecyl sulfate containing medium (SDS-EP). This suggests that changes occur preferentially either within the SDS-extractable or within the non-SDS-EP fraction and that they do not render non-extractable protein fractions extractable or vice versa. Furthermore, elastic recoil is most likely caused by reformation of inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions.