Effects of a commercial peptidase on rheology, microstructure, gluten properties of wheat dough and bread quality

Flavourzyme is a commercial peptidase, mainly with exopeptidase activity. In this study, effects of Flavourzyme addition (0-0.16 g/100 g) on properties of wheat dough and bread were systematically studied. Bread with a low concentration (0.01-0.08 g/100 g) of Flavourzyme addition had a large specific volume and soft texture with a uniform cell structure. The optimal Flavourzyme content was 0.04 g/100 g and the specific volume increased from 3.9 mL/g to 4.4 mL/g, the hardness decreased from 21.7 N to 13.3 N. The gas production capacity of yeast increased with low concentrations of Flavourzyme addition, promoting dough expansion. Flavourzyme had a clear hydrolysis effect on wheat gluten in dough and caused the depolymerization and unfolding of gluten structure, thus decreasing the strength and viscoelasticity of dough. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy results further revealed that a low concentration of Flavourzyme had a slight effect on gluten. However, the gluten structure became discontinuous and open, which made the dough easily collapsed during fermentation, resulting in poor bread quality with high Flavourzyme content. The positive effects of appropriate amount of Flavourzyme addition on dough and bread properties indicated the potential of Flavourzyme as a bread improver by substituting chemical additives.