Effect of solid hydrocarbons as additives in breadmaking

A study of pure saturated hydrocarbons as experimental breadmaking additives has shown a critical dependence of loaf volume on chain length of the additive, addition of two methylene groups converting a highly significant volume reduction to a highly significant volume increase. The results are discussed in the light of current hypotheses of the mechanism of action of lipids in breadmaking, none of which is regarded as capable of explaining all the observed phenomena. A ‘reservoir’ of crystalline additive was shown not to be essential to the improving effect, and factors other than melting point of the additive were found to be involved, including a ‘flour factor’.