Effect of Mixing Time on Structural and Rheological Properties of Wheat Flour Dough for Breadmaking

The effect of mixing time on two Argentinean commercial flours (FI and FII) was studied. Both flours showed a similar electrophoresis profile but different content of free sulfhydryls. Rheology of dough obtained from flours (DI and DII) revealed that DI presented a more elastic matrix. FI required more than 8 min for an optimum development of gluten, while DII was already fully developed (development time: 7.3 min). Up to 16 min of mixing, DI matrix maintained the sheet like structure while DII showed a more filamentous one, characteristic of a weak and over kneaded dough. This weakness of gluten network obtained from FII was accompanied by a depolymerization process.