Miller Magazine Issue: 147 March 2022

110 ARTICLE MILLER / march 2022 ical stress) and thermal stress (a temperature increase from 30-to-60°C). This heating results in the weaken- ing of gluten proteins, providing the user with gluten strength data beyond basic mixing properties. 4. Viscosity: During this phase, mixing continues, and the temperature increases from 60-80°C. While this oc- curs, starch begins to gelatinize, which means the dough is transitioning from a gluten-supported system to a starch-supported system. 5. Amylase: In this phase, the dough is heated at a con- stant 90°C. Gluten at this stage is not playing any sig- nificant rheological role, and the starch granules have gelatinized and been attacked by amylases. The dough is still being mixed by the machine – which is the only mechanical stress affecting the dough at this time – pro- viding a measure of starch gel stability. 6. Retrogradation: The dough is cooled to a tempera- ture of ~60°C, and through this process, an increase in dough consistency can be observed. We can also ob- serve the initial stage of amylose retrogradation, which is a good indicator of overall starch recrystallization – a reaction that directly relates to product shelf life. Each of these evaluations are performed on a sample of flour over a 45-minute period, while the Mixolab 2 software calculates these measurements into an eval- uation curve. From there, the user can test a batch of flour for these specific parameters to ensure their flour will deliver the desired results for their products. DETERMINING THE RIGHT FLOUR “PROFILE” MADE SIMPLY As mentioned earlier, rather than thinking of flour as good or bad for your baked product, it is best to think in terms of whether the flour will “adapt” to your product. The six indices col- lected by the Mixolab 2 an- alyzer accomplishes exactly that: When you have record of an “ideal” flour for your product (typically achieved after ~20 samples), you can assemble a profile to help measure against future batches of flour. This not only helps the bakery ensure flour quality from batch-to-batch, but also from loca- tion-to-location if the company has multiple production facilities. For recipes that use white flour, the Mixolab Profiler is an intuitive application to help maintain quality control when evaluating batches of white flour in a visual, sim- ple-to-understand presentation. • Each of the six phases from the Mixolab 2 is evaluat- ed on a 0-to-9 number scale. • As you analyze a batch of dough, the Mixolab 2 will assign a number at each of the six phases. • After the test is complete, the software outputs the information into a profile that can be used to balance against the profile of an ideal sample of flour. What Makes a Good Flour? The Decision can be Yours! Nobody knows your product better than you. When it comes to controlling flour quality, incorporating a fast, in- sightful, and easy-to-use tool to determine an ideal flour profile that you can use to benchmark every flour deliv- ery is your best option.