Effects of Ascorbic Acid and Its Related Compounds on Breadmaking by Homebakery

L-Ascorbic acid (AsA) and its related compounds were tested for the improver of Breadmaking by Homebakery. AsA and dehydro-L-ascorbic acid (DHA) showed almost similar effects on the improvement of specific volume of the bread by adding around 8 ppm to wheat flour. But, 2, 3-diketo- L-gulonic acid (DKG) had no appreciable effect on the specific volume of the bread with the concentration up to 50 ppm. When the mixing time of the breadmaking was changed from 25 min to 85 min by 10-min intervals, the specific volume of the bread baked by 4-hr course was quite different from that of 25-min mixing : AsA gave no distinct decrease in the specific volume ; however, in the case of DKG and the control, the specific volume decreased with the increase of the mixing time. When the breadmaking time was extended from 4 hr to 8 hr, the specific volumes of the bread baked by the addition of AsA were distinctly decreased with the increase of the amount of AsAadded, but DHA showed no distinct effect on the increase of the loaf volume of bread baked. The SH concentrations in dough increased 4-fold after the addition of dry yeast, compared with the dough just before the addition of the yeast. This may suggest that the SH compounds in the yeast affect the cross-linking by SS linkages in the dough. For the breadmaking with an automatic breadmaking apparatus, some interactions between AsA, its related compounds and SH groups in the dough and yeast must be important for the breadmaking.