Potassium bicarbonate improves dough and cookie characteristics through influencing physicochemical and conformation properties of wheat gluten

Abstract

Baking soda (NaHCO3) has critical technological functions in cookie products. Health concern on excessive sodium consumption is increasing; therefore, it is necessary to explore NaHCO3 alternatives, such as KHCO3, for bakery products. This study investigated the impact of KHCO3 on the technological behaviors of cookie dough and end-uses in comparison with control samples prepared with NaHCO3 and explore the changes of physicochemical and conformation properties of soft wheat gluten during the process. Dough rheological measurements demonstrated that addition of KHCO3 reduced dough stickiness, and adding KHCO3 achieved similar dough and baking performances as using NaHCO3, which were partially attributed to the decrease of gliadin to glutenin ratio, changes of secondary structure, and intensive aggregation of gluten by introducing KHCO3. Cookie sensory attributes were also not adversely affected by using KHCO3. Therefore, partially replacing NaHCO3 with KHCO3 in cookie products can be an effective approach for sodium reduction. Keywords: Potassium bicarbonate, Sodium reduction, Cookie, Gluten aggregation, Gliadin to glutenin ratio, Secondary structure