Polyethylene glycol as an osmotic regulator in dough with reduced salt content

In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG) was used as an osmotic regulator in dough to investigate the effects of reduced NaCl content on dough properties. The effects of water content (±10% of Farinograph absorption) and PEG's molar mass on dough machinability (stickiness, work of adhesion and cohesiveness) were estimated using a full factorial design. PEG with different molar masses (400, ∼1600, and 3350 g/mol) was added at a concentration of 1 g/100 g flour. All properties measured were affected significantly by the variation of water content and PEG's molar mass. At lower levels of dough hydration, stickiness increased with an increase in PEG's molar mass, whereas the opposite trend was observed at higher levels of dough hydration, suggesting there may be an optimum between the water restriction effect induced by PEG and dough's physical properties. The interaction effect was significant for both stickiness and work of adhesion, showing interdependence between water content, PEG molecule size and dough physical properties. The effects of PEG's concentration and molar mass on dough machinability were also assessed by full factorial design. Increasing PEG's molar mass and concentration improved dough machinability, that is, dough with reduced stickiness was obtained.