NZ Baking Industry

Water levels key to keeping bread crispy

Foodnavigator.com (01/08/08) reported that a new study by researchers from the Netherlands shows that both water activity, which determines the direction of water migration, and water content have an effect on perceived crispiness of bread. However when these two parameters were studied separately they were able to determine that water content is more significant than water activity.The water content of the crust was found to be decisive for the transition point wrote the studys authors. The water distribution in samples with a history of high water content is more inhomogenous, which results in crispy and less crispyregions, thus making them overall more crispy than samples with same water content but higher water activity. Discovering techniques to maintain a crusts crispiness could help extend the shelf life. By modifying these factors, bakers can improve bread ingredients to produce crisper, longer lasting crusts for bread products and could mean less requirement for using artifical preservatives which are increasingly unwanted by consumers.