Influence of storage time and conditions on durum wheat semolina breadmaking performances

Durum wheat semolina is mostly used for the preparation of pasta and couscous and, in the Mediterranean area, it is also used to make bread. Several studies have assessed the ability of image analysis techniques to study bread quality. This is affected by several factors, such as the flour nature, the milling techniques and bread-making process, yeast type, water content of dough and the use of enzymes and other additives. However, the physico-chemical changes occurring during storage of flour and semolina might affect their technological properties; in particular, it is established that starch damage (or depolymerization) at a certain extent has a negative effect on bread structure. Many studies have addressed the shelf life of bread as a function of the bread-making process, raw materials and additives, however no study has investigated the role of semolina ageing on the bread-making performances. The aim of the present research was to assess the influence of durum wheat semolina ageing on the physical characteristics of bread by image analysis. Bread loaves were produced from semolina samples stored in 4 different packaging materials up to 150 days. Sampling and bread-making trials were performed every 15 days. Results show that ageing does affects durum wheat semolina bread-making performances, highlighting that storage time, rather than the type of packaging material, is the main factor determining quality changes in the final bread samples. In particular, a reduction of the bread slice area and height was observed with increasing semolina storage time, while a slight increase of crust and pore % areas was observed.