Bread staling: understanding the effects of transglutaminase and vital gluten supplementation on crumb moisture and texture using multivariate analysis

The objective of this study was to assess the contribution of transglutaminase (TG) and vital gluten (VG), alone or in con- junction, in preserving the quality of bread during storage (0, 3 and 9 days). The experimental design was set up to identify the best formulation to reduce changes in texture attributes and moisture content based on different levels of TG (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 g/100 g flour), VG (0 and 1 g/100 g flour), and wheat flour strength (FS: weak—WF, medium—MF, strong—SF). Results revealed that, in most cases, TG and VG addition had a beneficial effect on preserving crumb moistness over storage. Likewise, TG and VG were able to reduce changes in textural attributes during storage. The best formulations to improve bread quality in storage were 0.1% TG and 1% VG for WF, 0.2% TG for MF and 0.2% TG and 1% VG for SF