Moisture Redistribution and Phase Transitions During Bread Staling

ABSTRACTStandard white breads were stored with or without crust at 25°C in hermetic pouches. During two weeks of storage, the crumb moisture content and water activity (aw) decreased significantly when stored with crust. When stored without crust, moisture content and aw remained relatively unchanged. The causes of the initial firming of both breads over zero to seven days were not conclusive. But when stored beyond seven days, bread stored with crust was significantly firmer in texture and higher in amylopectin recrystallization than bread stored without crust. Moisture redistribution from crumb to crust played a significant role. This was accompanied by a decrease in freezable water in the bread crumb stored with crust. This loss in freezable water coincided with changes in the thermomechanical profile only in the case of sample stored with crust intact (and with a significant total and freezable water loss). Bread crumb stored without crust did not change in total and freezable water and showed less change in thermomechanical transitions. The transition occurring at ≈60°C (T2) correlated with amylopectin recrystallization but it could also have been caused by moisture loss during the analysis. Moisture migration from crumb to crust greatly reduced the total and freezable water in the crumb region, resulting in a significant reduction in the magnitude of the mechanical transition at ≈0°C (T1) as well as an increase in the storage modulus.