Enzymatic cross-linking to improve the handling properties of dough prepared within a normal and reduced NaCl environment.

This research examines the use of three enzymes [glucose oxidase (GOX), hexose oxidase (HOX), and xylanase (XYL)] and their combinations [GOX-XYL and HOX-XYL] on the dough handling properties of CDC Plentiful and Stettler wheat cultivars prepared at reduced (1.0% wt. by flour) and normal (2.0% wt. by flour) NaCl levels. Properties investigated include dough rheology, stickiness, and ratio of resistance to extension and extensibility. The inclusion of XYL and its combinations with GOX and HOX increased the stickiness, yielded lower dough strength indicated by rheology, and reduced the ratio of resistance to extension and extensibility. The inclusion of oxidative enzymes yielded a stronger dough, where HOX addition to dough had the lowest stickiness values and highest |G*| values, whereas GOX addition led to the highest ratio of resistance to extension-extensibility. NaCl only had minor effects overall on dough strength and stickiness for the cultivars studied. Overall, superior dough handling properties were observed with oxidative enzyme addition (GOX and HOX) suggesting that the increased crosslinking that occurs could aid in improving low sodium bread dough properties.