RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AERATION AND RHEOLOGY OF BREADS N.L. CHIN 1,3 , L.H. TAN 1 , Y.A. YUSOF 1 and R.A. RAHMAN 2 1 Department of Process and Food Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia 2 Department of Food Technology Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia Accepted for Publication August 9, 2009 ABSTRACT The relationship between aeration and rheology of bread was investigated by varying ingredient and processing factors during bread proofing and baking processes. Dough and bread aeration were quantified using density measure- ments from the volumetric methods. Dough rheology was characterized by the rising rate and maximum proofed height under a constant force using a texture analyzer, while bread rheology was characterized using the bread firmness test. Increasing flour strength and yeast level decreased dough and bread density and bread firmness but increased the rising rate and maximum proofed height of dough significantly (P < 0.02). Proofing time had no effect on dough’s rising rate, although it decreased dough and bread density (P < 0.01) and bread firmness (P < 0.002) and increased dough maximum proofed height (P < 0.02). Baking temperature did not show significant effect on bread density (P < 0.06) and had no effect on bread firmness. Dough and bread densities gave good correlations (R 2 > 0.79) with its rheological properties. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The textural properties of bread in terms of firmness as affected by its aeration can be predicted from the correlation between aeration and rheologi- cal properties of bread. The linearly regressed response models of dough and bread aeration and rheological properties provide predictions of processing and baking behavior of breads. 3 Corresponding author. TEL: +6-03-89466353; FAX: +6-03-86567123; EMAIL: chinnl@ eng.upm.edu.my Journal of Texture Studies 40 (2009) 727–738. © 2009, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 727