Effect of adding different levels of water on rheological, technological and sensory characteristics of corn starch gluten-free bread enriched with buckwheat flour

Water plays a key role in dough formulation and bread quality. Particularly in gluten-free doughs containing hydrocolloids, water is important in regulating the solubility of the components, dough consistency and resulting bread texture and quality. Therefore, the texture and quality of gluten-free bread is strongly influenced by the selection of its ingredients, especially the amount of water. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of adding different amounts of water in 6 levels (80, 90, 100, 110, 120 and 130%) on the rheological properties of the dough (extrusion test and leavening properties), technological properties (volume, baking loss, porosity, firmness and shelf-life) and the sensory properties of gluten-free bread. Rheology results showed that by increasing the amount of water from 80 to 130%, the consistency of the dough decreased and the leavening ability of the dough was improved. An increase in the amount of water up to 130% increased the amount of bread specific volume from 1.86 to 3.14 mL/g. In terms crumb structure, an increase in the amount of water up to 130% increased crumb porosity. Bread firmness (24 h after baking) decreased from 0.325 N to 0.273 N by increasing the amount of water. The results showed that samples containing high amounts of water (120 and 130%) were more susceptible to mold growth than those with low water content (80 and 90%). Sensory results showed that increasing the amount of water from 80 to 130% improved sensory characteristics such as bread volume, porosity and firmness, and increased the overall acceptance of samples. Overall, samples containing 120 and 130% water in formulation, received the highest overall acceptance scores.