Characterizing the impact of starch and gluten-induced alterations on gelatinization behavior of physically modified model dough

Gelatinization properties of physically modified starch-gluten matrices are often exclusively traced back to starch constitution without considering the state of gluten. Thus, gelatinization of model dough, combining reference (rS)/modified starch (mS) with reference (rG)/modified gluten (mG), was investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance and differential scanning calorimetry to relate structural alterations of biopolymers to their hydration properties. No differences were found in gelatinization onsets of model dough consisting of rS and mS combined with mG (starch: gluten = 50:50 (m/m)), although gelatinization enthalpy of mS mG (1.7 ± 0.4 J/g dm) was significantly lowered in comparison to rS mG (2.2 ± 0.2 J/g dm). Relaxation time T₂ was significantly reduced for mG in comparison to rG, demonstrating a tighter water binding of mG. This suggests that reduced gelatinization enthalpy of modified starch–gluten matrices is caused by a destruction of crystal parts of modified starch and by a tighter water binding of modified gluten.