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Title: Application of RVA and Time-Lapse Photography to Explore Effects of Extent of Chlorination, Milling Extraction Rate, and Particle-Size Reduction of Flour on Cake-Baking Functionality

Author
item KWEON, MEERA
item SLADE, LOUISE - FOOD POLYMER SCIENCE CONSULTANCY
item LEVINE, HARRY - FOOD POLYMER SCIENCE CONSULTANCY
item SOUZA, EDWARD

Submitted to: Cereal Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/27/2010
Publication Date: 9/16/2010
Citation: Kweon, M., Slade, L., Levine, H., Souza, E.J. 2010. Application of RVA and time-lapse photography to explore effects of extent of chlorination, milling extraction rate, and particle-size reduction of flour on cake-baking functionality. Cereal Chemistry. 87:409-414.

Interpretive Summary: Using RVA and time-lapse photography, we explored the effects of extent of chlorination, milling extraction rate, and particle-size reduction of flour on cake-baking functionality. With increasing extent of flour chlorination, starch pasting occurred earlier, and both peak and final viscosities increased. Compared to the effect in water, high sugar concentration exaggerated the impact. Time-lapse photographs showed that dramatic collapse occurred for cakes baked with unchlorinated flour samples, due to delayed starch pasting, compared to the geometry of the final cooled cakes made with chlorinated fours. As the extent of flour chlorination increased, cake moisture content and edge height decreased. Cake center height and shape factor wer curvilinear, with maxima near pH 4.6. Starch pasting and egg-white setting occurred too early for cakes baked with excessively chlorinated flour (pH 4.0), but too late for cakes baked with unchlorinated or insufficiently chlorinated flours (pH 4.9), compared to the ideal starch-pasting and egg-white setting behavior with appropriately chlorinated flours (pH above 4.0 and below 4.9). The use of time-lapse photography and interpretation of expansion profiles during baking of cakes made with flours with varying extents of chlorination led to an enhanced understanding of cake-baking functionality of flour, which will make it possible to relate RVA behavior in 50% sucrose to cake-baking potential.

Technical Abstract: Three factors (extent of chlorination, milling extraction rate and particle-size reduction) in the cake-bakeing functionality of Croplan 594W flour were explored by Rapid Visco-Analyzer (RVA) and time-lapse photography. The extent of chlorination and milling extraction rate showed dramatic effects, but post-milling to reduce flour particle size was a less significant factor. RVA results showed that starch pasting was accelerated, and both peak and set-back viscosities were enhanced, with increasing extent of chlorination. These effects were exaggerated by the high sugar concentration relevant to cake aking, compared to the same effects in water. Cake baking with cholrinated flours, in a formulation with 50% Sugar (%S( abd 275 parts Total Solvent (TS), showed that, as the extent of chlorination increased, cake moistrue content and edge height decreased. Cake center height and shape factor were curvilinear, with maxima near flour pH of 4.6. Dramatic collapse occured for cakes baked with unchlorinated flour samples, due to delayed starch pasting, as documented by time-lapse photography and comparison to the geometry of the final cooled cakes. Starch pasting and egg-white setting occurred too early for the cakes baked with excessively chlorinated flour (pH 4.0), but too late for the cakes baked with unchlorinated or insufficiently chlorinated flours (pH 4.9), compared to the ideal starch-pasting and egg-white setting behavior with appropriately chlorinated flours (pH above 4.0 and below 4.9). Informal sensory texture evaluation showed that cake mouthfeel was related to both moisture content per se and the relationship between moisture conten and cake relative humidity (%RH). Excessive flour chlorination resulted in unacceptably dry cake mouthfeel.