Effects of Frozen Storage Time, Thawing Treatments, and Their Interaction on the Rheological Properties of Non-Fermented Wheat Dough

Jingjie Yang; Yingquan Zhang; Jikai Jiang; Bo Zhang; Ming Li; Boli Guo

doi:10.3390/foods12234369

Effects of Frozen Storage Time, Thawing Treatments, and Their Interaction on the Rheological Properties of Non-Fermented Wheat Dough

Foods. 2023 Dec 4;12(23):4369. doi: 10.3390/foods12234369.

Authors

Jingjie Yang¹, Yingquan Zhang^{1

2}, Jikai Jiang¹, Bo Zhang¹, Ming Li¹, Boli Guo^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences/Comprehensive Utilization Laboratory of Cereal and Oil Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People Republic of China, Beijing 100193, China.
² Western Agriculture Research Center, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changji 831100, China.

Abstract

In this study, the effects of frozen storage time, thawing treatments, and their interaction on the rheological properties of non-fermented dough were evaluated. Texture profile analysis (TPA), rheological measurements, including strain/frequency sweep, and creep-recovery measurement were applied to the dough. Compared with unfrozen fresh dough, the frozen storage time (S) and thawing treatment (T) influenced almost all indicators significantly, and their mutual effects (S × T) mainly affected the hardness and springiness. Frozen time was the main factor resulting in the destruction of non-fermented dough during the thawing treatments. Moreover, refrigerator thawing (4 °C) produced a dough with minimal changes in the rheological properties, regardless of the frozen storage time. Meanwhile, microwave thawing resulted in lower G' and lower zero shear viscosity (η₀) values, as well as higher maximum creep compliance (J_max) and hardness values. Moreover, the difference between the three thawing treatments was exacerbated after 30 days of frozen storage. SEM images also showed that long-term frozen storage combined with microwave thawing seriously destroyed the rheological properties, structural stability, and inner microstructure of the dough.

Keywords: dough rheological properties; frozen non-fermented dough; frozen storage; thawing treatment.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31972159), the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund (No. S2022JBKY-04), and the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-03).