Effects of incorporated amaranth albumins on the functional properties of wheat dough

BACKGROUND: Recent developments in micro-scale testing methodology and in methods modelling the effects of native forms of constituents by in vitro methods have provided a new approach to study the impact of added foreign proteins on dough end-use quality. Amaranth (Amaranthus) is a member of the pseudo-cereal family, whose storage proteins have superior nutritional quality due to their essential amino acid composition. The aim of this project was to study the effects of the incorporated amaranth albumin proteins on the rheological properties of the wheat dough. RESULTS: The mixing time requirements, dough strength and stability of the reconstructed dough increased proportionally with the amount (1, 3 and 5%) of amaranth albumin proteins incorporated. These results were supported by measurements on the non-extractable polymeric protein ratio of the dough indicating the change in polymer size distribution. CONCLUSION: It was demonstrated that amaranth albumin proteins are capable of interacting with gluten proteins through disulfide bonds, showing similar effects to the individual glutenin subunits of wheat flour proteins. Improvements in dough strength and stability without a substantial increase in the mixing requirements are of great significance for developing energy saving technologies in the baking industry. (C) 2009 Society of Chemical Industry