Comparison of methods for the assessment of the extent of staling in bread

Most of the physico-chemical methods used for indirect measurement of staling in western pan bread have been used for measuring the extent of staling in arabic bread. The water activity and alkaline water retention capacity values decreased significantly with the ageing of bread samples. The amount of soluble starch and amylose contents also decreased significantly as the bread aged during storage. In spite of their limitations, sensory analysis parameters were found to follow the staling of white as well as extra bran arabic bread more closely than any other single method. Instron puncture force measurements correlated well with other chemical methods and sensory analysis parameters in white arabic bread, but did not provide significant correlations for extra bran Arabic bread. Based on the data presented for the different physical, chemical and sensory methods investigated in this study, the alkaline water retention capacity produced the best correlation with most of these parameters. This test is, therefore, recommended as an appropriate objective method for assessing the extent of staling of arabic bread.