Evaluation of a new method to determine the water addition level in gluten-free bread systems

The water content in gluten-free recipes plays an essential role in the resulting product quality. Up to date the water adjustment is conducted mainly by trial-and-error. Brabender GmbH & Co. KG developed an attachment for the Farinograph, which makes the measurement of batter consistencies feasible. The water content was adjusted using this new tool and compared to the water determined based on the water hydration capacity (WHC) of the single bulking ingredients. Furthermore, bread quality characteristics were analysed. Five different hydrocolloids were tested in a gluten-free system based on rice flour. Water levels differed significantly, when guar gum (20% water) or sodium alginate (18% water) were incorporated. The use of Farinograph resulted generally in a higher specific volume (+0.63 ml/g) and a softer crumb (−16 N). On the contrary, the WHC-method only gave an indication about the water addition but did not consider temperature changes during mixing and its effect on the hydration. In conclusion, Farinograph can be considered as a useful tool for the determination of the optimal water content, and additionally provides useful information about batter stability and dough development time.