Bread Staling: Changes During Storage Caused by the Addition of Calcium Salts and Inulin to Wheat Flour

Abstract

The objective of this work was to study changes in staling parameters of wheat bread formulated with different calcium salts (carbonate, citrate, or lactate) and inulin. The moisture content and texture of crumbs were studied. Moreover, the effect of calcium and inulin levels on crumb firmness during storage was estimated by fitting the Avrami equation. Starch retrogradation and the amylose-lipid complex were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction. Crumbs with high inulin content retained water during storage, regardless of the nature of the calcium salt used. In addition, they presented lower loss of elasticity and cohesiveness than the control crumb. Crumbs with calcium citrate and low inulin content produced the lowest increase in crumb firmness. In addition, elasticity and cohesiveness of crumbs containing low amount of inulin and organic salts were almost maintained. The salt that favored the retrogradation process was calcium lactate with high inulin content, evidenced by the shorter half-time obtained with the kinetic studies. Also, the increase in crystallinity of B-type starch in crumbs with organic calcium salts and high inulin content, correlates with the highest values of retrogradation enthalpy obtained by DSC.