The Influence of Arabinoxylans on the Properties of Wheat Bread Baked Using the Postponed Baking Method

Bread is a basic element of the human diet. To counteract the process of its going stale, semi-finished bakery products are subjected to cooling or freezing. This process is called postponed baking. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of the molar mass of rye arabinoxylans (AXs) on the properties of wheat breads baked using the postponed baking method. Breads were produced using the postponed baking method from wheat flour without and with 1 or 2% share of rye AXs clearly differing in molar masses—non-modified or modified AXs by means of partial hydrolysis and cross-linking. The molar mass of non-modified AXs was 413,800 g/mol, that of AXs after partial hydrolysis was 192,320 g/mol, and that of AXs after cross-linking was 535,630 g/mol. The findings showed that the addition of all AX preparations significantly increased the water absorption of the baking mixture, and the increase was proportional to the molar mass of AXs used as well as the share of AX preparation. Moreover, for the first time, it was shown that 1% share of partly hydrolyzed AXs, of a low molar mass, in the baking mixture had the highest effect on increasing the volume of bread and reducing the hardness of the bread crumb of bread baked using postponed baking method. It was also shown that the AXs had a low and inconclusive effect on the baking loss and moisture content of the bread crumb.