Effects of Lactic Acid, Acetic Acid, and Table Salt on Fundamental Rheological Properties of Wheat Dough

The effects of the main metabolites, lactic and acetic acids, from the sourdough process on wheat doughs were tested with a dynamic sinusoidal oscillation test. Tests were done with a controlled stress rheometer. Dough treatment included four mixing times and four rest times before measurement. Phase angle, complex modulus, and viscosity were measured for all doughs at selected rest and mixing times, at frequencies ranging from 0.01–10 Hz. Results for all combinations of mixing and rest times were compared at 10 Hz. Effects of mixing time were most visible immediately after mixing and disappeared partially during rest time. Doughs that contained acid but no salt showed the clearest characteristics of overmixing, expressed by an increase in phase angle and decrease in complex modulus.