The goals of this study were to evaluate the effect of baking time on the Maillard reaction products (MRPs) generated in the crust of the traditional French baguette and to estimate their impact on its sensory characteristics, its acrylamide content, and its bifidogenic effect. Melanoidins, volatile compounds, and acrylamide were evaluated in the crust of traditional French baguettes baked between 12 and 22 min at 225 °C. The increase in melanoidins was positively correlated to the baking time, while volatile compounds only increased until 18 min. The acrylamide content was estimated to be below 18 μg/kg, which confirms the findings of EFSA that bread is not a main contributor to dietary acrylamide. A descriptive sensory analysis showed that the baking time positively affected the sensory quality of the crust. The consumer test revealed the same trend and the panelists favorably judged the well-baked baguettes based on a better crust flavor and crispness. The bifidogenic effect of the crust and the crumb from the baguettes baked 22 min was evaluated on the in vitro growth of Bifidobacterium adolescentis. The results demonstrated that the crumb and the crust had exactly the same bifidogenic impact, therefore not caused by melanoidins.
Practical application: The consumption of bread in France has decreased since 2007, although bread is considered by French people as "healthy" and essential to maintain a balanced diet. The current study evaluated the global qualities of the French baguette in order to highlight its high sensory quality and its beneficial effect by inducing a possible growth of bifidobacteria, even in well-baked baguettes. These findings allow the French bakery industry to develop an argument to promote its technical know-how and to help consumers choose healthier and tastier bread. Moreover, this study provided some recommendations of baking processes to maintain a high sensory quality of the French baguette and limit the formation of undesirable compounds, such as acrylamide, in the crust.
Keywords: Maillard reaction products; acrylamide; bifidogenic effect; sensory quality; traditional French baguette.
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