Dough stretch characteristics rheometer

for wheat doughlaboratory

Bakers have always characterised dough by hand kneading and stretching to assess its quality, and know that baking performance is related to these rheological properties. Such a simple test indicates the type of measurements that are required to predict baking performance. Bread making is a complex process involving mixing, dividing, moulding, sheeting, proofing to final baking, each of which have a characteristic time scale, strain and strain rate. As the rheological behaviour of dough is non-linear with strain, measurements must be made under conditions of strain and strain rate similar to those encountered in baking. How the Dough Inflation System works The D/R Dough Inflation System measures dough extensional rheology under conditions of strain similar to those of baking expansion. This is achieved by inflating a sheet of dough by volume displacement of air using a piston driven by a Stable Micro Systems TA.XTplusC Texture Analyser. Pressure during inflation is measured by a pressure transducer and the volume of the inflating dough sheet is calculated from the displacement of the piston. The D/R Dough Inflation System enables the rheological properties of both dough and gluten to be measured during biaxial stretching, which is the relevant deformation in the cell wall material surrounding an expanding gas bubble during proof and baking