Influence of the amount of steaming during baking on the kinetic of heating and on selected quality attributes of bread Original Research Article

The effect of the amount of steam injection on selected bread characteristics were investigated using a deck oven (1 m2 internal surface). Baking was done at 200 °C for 20 min with steaming of 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 ml. The temperature at center of the bread and the CO2 concentration in the oven have been measured during baking. Specific volume, moisture loss and crust crumb ratio were measured after baking. The heating rate between 35 and 55 °C was considered to compare the steaming conditions. For low steaming (100 and 200 ml), the heating rate was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those at higher steaming (400–500 ml). The heating rate at 300 ml was between the 100–200 and 400–500 ml groups. This difference was attributed to the condensation of steam on the loaf for higher steaming, which in turns slows down the heating rate. The largest bread volume was obtained either for low or high steaming. However, tearing of the crust was observed for low steaming. The crust–crumb ratio was increasing with decreasing amount of steaming. The amount of CO2 released during baking was higher for the highest amount of steaming; however, this result was not statistically different except between 100 and 500 ml. This could be attributed to a slower heating rate which in turns favors the secondary production of CO2 during baking until thermal inactivation of CO2.