Abstract
This study aimed to investigate “melt-in-mouth” sensory attributes in bread using four samples: freshly baked and after 1, 3 and 7 days of refrigerated storage (5 ℃). The “melt-in-mouth” sensory attributes were evaluated as the intensities of “ease of dissolving in saliva” and “ease of swallowing”, which both decreased during storage. The crumb firmness as measured by its elastic properties increased and the water dissolution and water swelling rates of baked bread powder and starch powder decreased significantly during storage. X-ray diffractograms of the baked bread powder showed that as refrigerated storage time increased starch retrogradation increased. During storage, starch retrogradation caused the crumb water absorption to decrease and the crumb firmness to increase, resulting in greater difficulty in dissolving in saliva and in swallowing, respectively.
