Understanding the function of sugar in burger buns: a fundamental study

The consumption of sugar-reduced bakery products represents a promising way to decrease health problems such as obesity, which can be related to the increased intake of added sugar. One highly consumed food product are burger buns, which can contain up to 120 g kg⁻¹ sugar. This study evaluates the impact of sugar-reduction on the quality of burger buns and their respective doughs from a fundamental perspective. Sucrose was replaced by wheat starch in 10 g kg⁻¹ steps and compared to a control burger bun (100 g kg⁻¹). A 30%-sugar-reduction increased gas formation during fermentation, which resulted in a higher specific volume (3.85 ± 0.08 ml/g) when compared to the full-sugar product (3.52 ± 0.07 ml/g). The gluten network developed faster when no sucrose was added (−66 s). It also became stronger (+11 BU) causing a decrease in dough extensibility. Sugar-reduction led to a lighter crust and higher water activity [0.915 ± 0.006 (full-sugar), 0.948 ± 0.004 (no-added sugar)], which shortened shelf life by 6 days. Sugar-reduction is highly correlated to dough characteristics, which result in quality changes of the dough as well as product quality parameter. PCA analysis of the data revealed that the addition of 70 g kg⁻¹ sucrose is essential to ensure adequate burger bun quality.