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Staling

Staling is a physicochemical process that occurs in baked goods containing starch, such as bread, buns, and cakes, leading to a loss of freshness, firmness in the crumb, toughening of the crust, and diminished flavor and aroma, primarily through the recrystallization of starch molecules known as retrogradation.^[1] The phenomenon has been observed since ancient times and scientifically studied for over 150 years, initially thought to result from moisture loss but now understood primarily as starch retrogradation.^[2]^[3] This process begins immediately after baking during the cooling phase and progresses over time, contributing significantly to global food waste in the baking industry by shortening shelf life.^[1] The primary mechanism involves the realignment of gelatinized starch components—amylose, which retrogrades rapidly upon cooling, and amylopectin, which undergoes slower recrystallization responsible for long-term staling effects—rather than simple moisture loss.^[4] Factors influencing staling include storage temperature, with lower temperatures accelerating amylopectin retrogradation, as well as interactions between starch, proteins, and water that alter the bread's microstructure.^[5] Economically, staling poses challenges for large-scale bakeries, prompting research into mitigation strategies like emulsifiers and modified storage conditions to extend product viability.^[1]

Definition and Overview

Definition of Staling

Staling refers to the progressive deterioration in the quality of baked goods, particularly bread, characterized by a loss of softness, flavor, and aroma resulting from internal structural rearrangements within the product's components, rather than solely from moisture evaporation. This phenomenon manifests as increased crumb firmness, reduced elasticity, and diminished sensory appeal, transforming fresh, palatable products into unappealing ones within hours to days after baking. Primarily observed in wheat-based items where starch constitutes a major fraction, staling affects the overall eating experience by altering the product's texture and taste profile.^[1] Unlike simple drying, which involves surface moisture loss and can be reversed by rehydration, staling proceeds independently of net water loss and occurs even in hermetically sealed environments that prevent evaporation. The process is partially reversible through gentle heating, which temporarily restores freshness by disrupting the underlying molecular structures, but re-wetting alone fails to recover the original qualities, underscoring its basis in chemical and physical transformations. This distinction highlights staling as a distinct aging mechanism, not merely a dehydration effect.^[6] The scope of staling extends mainly to amylose- and amylopectin-rich products such as bread, cakes, pastries, and rolls, where these starches undergo recrystallization known as retrogradation, leading to the observed quality decline. It also occurs to a lesser extent in other starchy foods like cooked rice or potatoes, though baked goods are most susceptible due to their porous structure and high starch content. Economically, staling contributes significantly to global bread waste, with estimates indicating that approximately 10% of bread production is lost across the supply chain, exacerbating food insecurity and environmental burdens.

Historical Context and Economic Impact

The phenomenon of bread staling has been recognized since ancient times, with evidence suggesting that early bakers observed the rapid loss of freshness in baked goods, leading to daily production practices in civilizations like ancient Egypt and Rome where bread was a staple food.^[7] Historical records indicate that bread, dating back over 14,000 years, was typically consumed fresh due to its quick deterioration, influencing cultural norms around immediate baking and consumption.^[8] Scientific investigation into staling began in the early 20th century, building on 19th-century advancements in starch chemistry; the Dutch researcher J.R. Katz is credited with pioneering studies around 1928, identifying starch changes as a key factor in bread firming through experiments on gelatinization and retrogradation.^[3]^[9] The understanding of staling evolved from early folklore attributing it primarily to moisture evaporation—resulting in practices like daily baking to ensure freshness, as reflected in cultural phrases such as "daily bread"—to a biochemical perspective established post-1950s.^[10] By the mid-20th century, research shifted focus to starch retrogradation as the dominant mechanism, with studies confirming that physical and chemical transformations in starch polymers, rather than simple drying, drive the process.^[11] This transition marked a departure from anecdotal observations to rigorous experimentation, incorporating tools like X-ray diffraction to analyze molecular rearrangements.^[12] Economically, staling contributes significantly to global food waste, accounting for 5-10% of worldwide bread production losses annually, with updated 2025 estimates placing the value of wasted bread at approximately 12-25 billion USD based on a global market size of 245 billion USD.^[13]^[14] This waste shortens shelf life, leading to significant economic losses for retailers through unsold inventory and waste, exacerbating losses for bakeries and retailers.^[2] In developing regions, the impact is amplified due to limited access to preservation technologies like controlled packaging or freezing, resulting in higher waste rates for staple starchy foods and contributing to food insecurity.^[3]^[15]

Biochemical and Physical Mechanisms

Starch Retrogradation Process

Starch retrogradation represents the core biochemical pathway in the staling of baked products, primarily involving the recrystallization of gelatinized starch components. Starch comprises amylose, a predominantly linear α-(1,4)-linked glucan that undergoes rapid retrogradation due to its unbranched structure facilitating quick chain alignment, and amylopectin, a highly branched molecule with α-(1,6) linkages that recrystallizes more slowly over extended periods. This process initiates within hours after baking as the starch paste cools and the dispersed polymer chains begin to reassociate into ordered, crystalline domains.^[16]^[4] The retrogradation sequence commences with gelatinization during baking, where heat and moisture cause starch granules to absorb water, swell, and lose their native crystalline order, forming a viscous amylose-amylopectin matrix. Upon cooling, the process advances through nucleation, the formation of initial crystal nuclei from aligned chain segments, followed by propagation, where these nuclei grow via further chain incorporation into crystalline lattices. The kinetics of retrogradation are commonly modeled using the Avrami equation:

X(t) = 1 - \exp(-k t^n)

where X(t) denotes the fraction of crystallinity at time t, k is the rate constant reflecting crystallization speed, and n is the Avrami exponent that characterizes the dimensionality and mechanism of crystal growth, typically ranging from 1 to 2 for starch systems.^[17]^[18] Retrogradation exhibits strong temperature dependence, proceeding optimally in the range of 4–25°C where molecular mobility supports efficient chain reassociation; below 0°C, short-term acceleration occurs due to enhanced nucleation, though prolonged freezing can induce ice crystal formation mimicking freezer burn effects. Recent investigations using ¹³C solid-state NMR spectroscopy have linked the progressive increase in bread hardness during staling to enhanced short-range ordering in amylopectin structures, as evidenced by shifts in resonance signals for key carbon atoms (C2, C3, C5), independent of overall retrogradation rates.^[16]^[19]

Moisture Redistribution and Structural Changes

During bread staling, moisture migrates primarily from the crumb to the crust, resulting in crumb dehydration and crust hydration, which alters the equilibrium moisture content across the loaf over time. This redistribution is driven by differences in water activity and vapor pressure gradients between the inner crumb and outer crust, leading to a net loss of water in the crumb region. For instance, in bread stored at 25°C with its crust intact, crumb moisture content decreases significantly over 14 days, while freezable water in the crumb diminishes significantly after 7 days.^[20] Such migration accelerates beyond initial starch retrogradation processes, contributing to overall structural firming.^[21] The dynamics of this moisture movement can be modeled using Fick's laws of diffusion, which describe water flux as a function of concentration gradients within the bread matrix. Fick's first law states that the diffusive flux J is given by

J = -D \nabla C

where D is the diffusion coefficient, and \nabla C is the concentration gradient of water. Applications of Fick's second law, \frac{\partial C}{\partial t} = D \nabla^2 C, have been used to fit experimental moisture profiles, revealing diffusion rates that vary by bread type, generally slower in sourdough than in lactic acid-fermented bread over 300 hours of storage at 25°C. These models highlight how slower diffusion in certain formulations delays dehydration and associated mechanical stiffening.^[21]^[22] Gluten proteins play a key role in structural stiffening during moisture redistribution, as dehydration reduces their plasticizing water content, leading to a more rigid network that contributes to crumb firming. This stiffening is exacerbated by interactions where gluten competes with starch for available moisture, potentially forming denser aggregates that limit water mobility. Studies on gluten-enriched breads show that higher gluten levels correlate with increased amylopectin retrogradation and reduced crumb water status, amplifying textural changes over 7 days of storage.^[23]^[3] Microstructural evolution during staling involves pore collapse and heightened starch crystallinity, observable through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as moisture loss promotes denser packing and recrystallization. SEM analyses reveal a progression from open, porous crumb structures to more collapsed, fibrous networks with increased crystalline domains, particularly in the outer crumb regions nearer the crust. A review of water's role emphasizes that at low humidity, the plasticizing effect of water diminishes, accelerating these changes by elevating the glass transition temperature of the amorphous matrix and facilitating rapid firming.^[3]^[24] Starch-gluten interactions further drive staling through moisture competition, where retrograded starch sequesters water, depriving the gluten network and promoting overall dehydration and rigidity. Model systems demonstrate that during staling, water lost from starch can transfer to gluten, but this redistribution ultimately results in net crumb drying and accelerated firming, independent of temperature variations above freezing.^[3]^[25]

Effects on Product Quality

Textural and Mechanical Alterations

One of the primary textural changes during staling is crumb firming, characterized by a significant increase in hardness measurable through Texture Profile Analysis (TPA). For instance, in white wheat bread, crumb hardness can increase from around 20 N immediately after baking to over 30 N after three days of storage at room temperature, reflecting the progressive stiffening of the internal structure.^[26]^[27] This firming is accompanied by a loss of crust crispness, primarily due to moisture migration from the crumb to the crust, which elevates crust moisture content and transforms its brittle texture into a leathery one.^[28] Staling also alters the mechanical properties of baked goods, notably reducing compressibility and elasticity of the crumb. These changes result in a denser, less resilient matrix that resists deformation more rigidly over time.^[29] Staling kinetics are often modeled using a first-order equation to describe firmness evolution:

\text{Firmness} = F_0 + k(1 - e^{-\lambda t})

where F_0 is the initial firmness, k is the firmness increment constant, \lambda is the staling rate constant, and t is time in days. This model captures the asymptotic approach to maximum firmness, with \lambda values typically ranging from 0.01 to 0.2 day^{-1} depending on formulation.^[30]^[29] Quantitative assessment of these alterations relies on techniques such as rheology for viscoelastic properties and microscopy for structural observations, as outlined in recent reviews. Rheological methods, including dynamic mechanical analysis, track the increase in storage modulus during staling, while confocal microscopy reveals microstructural compaction.^[31] In whole wheat bread, staling proceeds faster than in refined wheat bread due to the disruptive effect of bran particles on starch network integrity, accelerating firmness gains.^[32] These textural shifts exhibit partial reversibility through brief thermal treatments that disrupt underlying starch retrogradation. Heating staled bread to around 100°C for 5 minutes can temporarily melt amylopectin crystals, restoring crumb softness for several hours, though repeated applications diminish effectiveness. These effects are more pronounced in bread but also occur in other starch-based baked goods like buns and cakes, though at varying rates.^[2]^[33]

Sensory and Nutritional Impacts

Staling significantly impacts the sensory profile of baked goods, primarily through the degradation of desirable flavors and aromas. During storage, volatile compounds responsible for the fresh-baked scent, such as Maillard reaction products and fermentation-derived aldehydes (e.g., 2-methylbutanal), decrease due to evaporation and migration from the crumb to the crust. This loss contributes to a diminished fresh aroma, with studies showing qualitative reductions in these compounds over weeks of storage at room temperature. Concurrently, lipid oxidation accelerates, producing secondary products like aldehydes and ketones that impart off-flavors, including dusty, bitter, and cardboard-like notes, particularly noticeable after 2-3 weeks. These changes alter the overall flavor balance, reducing the bread's sensory appeal. Sensory evaluations by trained panels confirm a rapid decline in consumer acceptability linked to these aroma and flavor shifts. For instance, overall liking scores decrease steadily over storage periods, with noticeable drops in attributes like freshness and mouthfeel within the first 2-10 days, often attributed to the interplay of volatile loss and emerging off-notes. The addition of amylases, such as maltotetraose-producing variants, can delay this sensory decline; a 2021 study demonstrated that enzyme-treated bread maintained higher firmness, elasticity, and moistness scores after 7 days, closely resembling fresh bread and preserving acceptability.^[34] These perceptual changes are exacerbated by textural firming, which indirectly influences flavor release. Nutritionally, staling has minimal effects on caloric content but alters starch digestibility through retrogradation, increasing the proportion of resistant starch (RS). Retrograded amylopectin forms structures resistant to enzymatic breakdown in the small intestine, potentially raising RS levels and promoting fermentation in the colon, which may benefit gut health by supporting microbiota. While exact increases vary by bread type and storage conditions, this shift reduces the glycemic response compared to fresh bread, though it can lower overall starch digestibility during extended storage. Consumer perception of staling drives significant food waste, as the combined sensory losses—particularly the unappealing stale texture and flavors—lead to psychological aversion and discard. Staling accounts for a major portion of bread waste, with estimates indicating up to 10% of production lost across the supply chain due to perceived quality decline, contributing to broader economic and environmental impacts.^[35]

Factors Influencing Staling

Ingredient and Formulation Variables

The choice of flour type significantly influences the rate of staling in baked goods, primarily through variations in starch composition and fiber content. High-amylose wheat flours, which contain elevated levels of amylose relative to amylopectin, exhibit slower staling rates, with reduced crumb firming observed during storage.^[36] In contrast, whole grain flours accelerate staling by incorporating dietary fibers that absorb and redistribute moisture within the crumb, promoting faster firmness development and texture degradation.^[29] Additives incorporated into the dough formulation play a key role in modulating staling by acting as humectants or modifying starch structure. Sugars and fats function as humectants, binding water molecules to reduce moisture migration and thereby decreasing the staling rate, with studies showing reductions in crumb firmness by 15-40% depending on concentration.^[37] Enzymes such as alpha-amylase hydrolyze starch chains during or after baking, limiting amylopectin retrogradation and resulting in softer crumb texture over time.^[34] Baking variables within the formulation process, including temperature and hydration, further affect staling susceptibility by influencing initial starch gelatinization. Optimal dough hydration levels around 60-70% are commonly recommended to balance water availability for gluten development and overall moisture retention.^[38] Recent research highlights the impact of incorporating coarse cereals into formulations, where their addition alters pasting properties such as peak viscosity and gelation temperature, leading to increased staling rates in composite breads compared to refined wheat counterparts.^[39]

Environmental and Storage Conditions

The rate of starch retrogradation in baked goods, a primary mechanism of staling, is optimized at room temperature around 20°C, where the process proceeds at a moderate pace without excessive acceleration of molecular realignment. Refrigeration at 4°C, however, significantly hastens this process by 2–3 times through enhanced starch nucleation, leading to quicker crumb firming and texture degradation compared to ambient conditions.^[40] Relative humidity plays a critical role in post-baking moisture dynamics, with levels below 60% promoting rapid surface drying and overall moisture migration from the crumb, thereby accelerating staling.^[40] In contrast, controlled atmospheres such as those incorporating CO2 can mitigate this by reducing moisture loss by approximately 15%, preserving hydration and delaying firmness increases.^[41] Similarly, storage in open air allows greater oxygen ingress, resulting in kinetics that show staling proceeding about 50% faster due to combined oxidation and evaporation effects.^[40]

Prevention and Countermeasures

Technological Additives and Enzymes

Technological additives and enzymes are incorporated into bread formulations during mixing or dough preparation to interfere with starch retrogradation and moisture migration at the molecular level, thereby delaying staling.^[34] Amylases, particularly maltogenic and maltotetraose-producing variants derived from microbial sources, are added at low dosages of 0.005% to 0.02% on a flour weight basis to hydrolyze amylopectin into short-chain dextrins during baking and early storage. These dextrins disrupt the recrystallization of starch molecules, significantly reducing amylopectin retrogradation as measured by differential scanning calorimetry, with enthalpy values dropping to as low as 0.81 J/g after 14 days compared to higher levels in controls. A 2021 study published in ACS Food Science & Technology demonstrated that such additions also lowered crumb firmness by approximately 32%, from 21.06 N to 14.3 N over the same period, confirming their role in maintaining bread softness.^[34]^[34]^[34] Emulsifiers like glycerol monostearate (GMS) at 0.5% of flour weight stabilize the interaction between starch and water by forming complexes with amylose, thereby retaining moisture within the crumb structure and slowing firmness development during storage.^[42] Hydrocolloids such as xanthan gum, typically added at 0.2-0.5%, further enhance water-binding capacity through their polymeric networks, which immobilize free water and extend crumb softness for several days post-baking. Research in the Journal of Food Science and Technology has shown that xanthan gum reduces crumb hardness in frozen dough breads by improving water retention, contributing to delayed staling without altering overall loaf volume.^[43]^[43] Antioxidants including butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are employed at FDA-approved levels of up to 0.02% of the fat or oil content to inhibit lipid oxidation, which otherwise leads to off-flavors and aroma loss associated with staleness in baked goods. These synthetic compounds scavenge free radicals in the dough's lipid fraction, preserving sensory freshness as per guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which deem them generally recognized as safe (GRAS) within specified limits for bakery applications.^[44] Despite their efficacy, overuse of these additives can result in undesirable sensory changes, such as a gummy or overly cohesive crumb texture due to excessive water immobilization or starch modification beyond optimal levels. Recent 2024 research highlights the development of novel microbial enzymes, including advanced maltotetraose-forming amylases, which offer targeted anti-staling effects with reduced dosages to minimize such drawbacks while improving bread quality through precise retrogradation inhibition.^[45]^[46] These interventions synergize with appropriate storage conditions to maximize shelf life, though their primary impact occurs during production.^[47]

Packaging and Processing Methods

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) employs gases such as nitrogen to displace oxygen within the packaging environment, typically reducing oxygen levels to below 5% and thereby slowing oxidative degradation and microbial growth that exacerbate staling in bread.^[48] This approach extends shelf life by limiting reactions that contribute to firmness and flavor loss, with studies showing MAP can prolong freshness in preservative-free white bread by 5–7 days under low-oxygen conditions.^[48] Vacuum sealing, often used in conjunction with MAP, creates an airtight seal that restricts moisture migration between the crumb and crust, preserving the bread's soft texture and delaying retrogradation.^[49] By preventing water redistribution, vacuum packaging reduces the rate of staling in high-moisture products like steamed or pan bread.^[49] Freezing bread at -18°C arrests the starch retrogradation process during storage, effectively halting staling by immobilizing water and starch molecules.^[50] However, thawing can induce recrystallization of amylopectin, leading to increased firmness if not managed properly; controlled thawing at 4°C minimizes ice crystal damage and moisture loss upon defrosting.^[51] This method is particularly effective for part-baked or whole loaves, though repeated freeze-thaw cycles may accelerate structural weakening over time.^[51] Edible coatings offer a non-invasive barrier to environmental factors influencing staling. A 2021 study on candelilla wax coatings applied post-baking (20% wax in sunflower oil) demonstrated substantial reductions in moisture loss and textural changes: untreated bread exhibited approximately 30% weight loss over 14 days at 23°C and 65% relative humidity, while coated samples showed only 13% loss, alongside a drop in crumb firmness from over 500 N to 34 N.^[28] The coating, brushed onto hot loaves and allowed to solidify during cooling, forms a hydrophobic layer that inhibits vapor transmission without altering sensory attributes significantly.^[28] Industrial processing methods emphasize controlled handling to curb staling onset. Rapid cooling immediately after baking, often using forced-air systems at ambient temperatures, accelerates heat dissipation and stabilizes the gelatinized starch structure, minimizing uneven moisture redistribution that promotes crumb firming.^[52] Slicing occurs post-cooling to expose uniform surfaces for packaging, reducing air pockets that could facilitate oxidation upon storage. Irradiation, an emerging non-thermal technique, employs low-dose gamma rays (0.2–0.5 kGy) to reduce microbial loads in bread, thereby extending shelf life by curbing mold growth that indirectly accelerates perceived staling through quality deterioration. This method preserves physicochemical properties while targeting spoilage organisms like Aspergillus and Penicillium.^[53]

Culinary and Industrial Applications

Uses in Traditional Recipes

In traditional culinary practices, stale bread has been ingeniously repurposed to create a variety of dishes, transforming what might otherwise be discarded into flavorful staples that minimize food waste. This approach dates back to pre-industrial eras when bread was a dietary cornerstone, and households relied on resourcefulness to stretch limited resources. For instance, classic preparations like French toast, known as pain perdu in French and Italian traditions, involve soaking slices of day-old bread in a mixture of eggs and milk before frying them to revive a soft, custardy texture that fresh bread cannot achieve without disintegrating.^[54]^[55] Other ubiquitous uses include cubing and toasting stale bread to produce croutons, which add crunch to salads and soups, or grinding it into breadcrumbs for coating fried foods or thickening sauces and stuffings. In American Thanksgiving traditions, stale bread is often dried further, cubed, and ground or torn to form the base of turkey stuffing, where it absorbs seasonings and juices to create a cohesive, flavorful filling.^[54]^[56] Soaking techniques are also common, as seen in the revival of stale loaves by briefly moistening them with water or broth before incorporating into recipes, which helps restore pliability without compromising the bread's structure.^[54] Regionally, these practices reflect cultural adaptations to local ingredients and economies. In Tuscany, Italy, pappa al pomodoro—a hearty soup—utilizes torn pieces of day-old country bread softened in hot vegetable broth and simmered with tomatoes and basil, resulting in a creamy, spoonable dish emblematic of cucina povera (poor kitchen) cooking. Similarly, the Middle Eastern salad fattoush crisps stale pita bread by frying or baking it before tossing with vegetables, herbs, and pomegranate, providing a textural contrast that enhances the dish's freshness. Pane perdue, a close relative of French toast, appears in Italian repertoires as a simple dessert or breakfast, underscoring bread's versatility across Mediterranean cuisines.^[57]^[55]^[55] The cultural significance of these repurposing methods lies in their roots as a pre-industrial necessity, particularly among peasant communities where bread staling was inevitable due to the absence of preservatives, turning potential waste into nutritious daily fare. Such traditions persist globally, from Portuguese açorda soups to British bread puddings, fostering a legacy of thrift that aligns with modern sustainability efforts. Moreover, staling primarily induces textural changes through starch retrogradation without significantly affecting the bread's nutritional value.^[58]^[59]

Commercial Reuse and Waste Reduction

In the bakery industry, stale bread is commonly milled and repurposed for animal feed, providing a nutrient-rich, cost-effective alternative to traditional grains while reducing landfill contributions. Studies indicate that leftover bread, free of contaminants, can constitute up to 20-30% of animal rations without compromising nutritional value or animal health.^[60] Additionally, stale bread serves as a feedstock for bioethanol production through hydrolysis and fermentation processes, yielding up to 114.9 g/L of ethanol with a conversion efficiency of 0.49 g/g of bread waste, offering a sustainable biofuel option that cuts fossil energy use by 50% compared to conventional sources.^[61] Conversion to functional ingredients, such as dietary fiber additives like arabinoxylans, further enhances value by incorporating these into new food products, improving texture and nutritional profiles while diverting waste from disposal.^[60] Recent 2025 initiatives in the bakery sector have achieved notable waste reductions through upcycling, with programs targeting 10-15% decreases in processing losses by repurposing surplus bread into higher-value outputs. The European Union's Revised Waste Framework Directive, effective October 2025, mandates a 10% reduction in food waste at the manufacturing and processing stages by 2030, alongside strengthened requirements for donation and reuse to foster circular practices in industries like baking.^[62] These efforts align with broader sustainability goals, emphasizing prevention and valorization to minimize the 6-9% average loss rates observed at bakery and retail levels.^[63] Innovations in processing stale bread include extrusion cooking of bread crumbs to produce expanded snack products, which yields crispier textures, higher expansion indices (up to 8.07), and increased dietary fiber content (5.75-7.28%) compared to wheat-based alternatives, effectively transforming waste into marketable items.^[64] Partnerships between bakeries and food banks also play a key role, as exemplified by programs like Panera Bread's Day-End Dough-Nation, which donates unsold baked goods nightly to thousands of non-profits, including shelters and pantries, ensuring redistribution within safe consumption windows post-staling.^[65] Economically, upcycling stale bread generates revenue from byproducts, offsetting 5-10% of typical disposal losses through sales of super-flour or biofuels, while enhancing profitability via cost savings on raw materials. A 2024 case study in Moldova's bakery sector demonstrated this through a circular model where surplus bread was ground into super-flour, substituting 10-15% of conventional flour and achieving 80% reuse rates by 2025, doubling processing capacity and enabling retail sales.^[66] Similarly, UK retailer initiatives reported 8% financial gains from waste diversion, underscoring the viability of these models in reducing economic impacts of staling.^[67]

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Influence of Amylase Addition on Bread Quality and Bread Staling
The most plausible causes responsible for bread staling are starch transformation, starch–gluten interaction, and moisture redistribution.Introduction · Material and Methods · Results and Discussion · References
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Bread Staling: Understanding the Process and How to Slow It Down
Dec 24, 2023 · Bread staling is the gradual deterioration in bread quality, particularly affecting firmness and eating quality, starting from the moment bread ...
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Hydration in bread dough, explained | King Arthur Baking
Jan 11, 2023 · Hydration refers to the total quantity of moisture in a bread dough. We quantify it using a ratio found by dividing the total weight of water (or water- ...
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Effects of coarse cereals on dough and Chinese steamed bread
The addition of coarse cereals leads to changes in the rheological, fermentation, and pasting aging properties of the dough, which further deteriorates the ...
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Impact of Storing Condition on Staling and Microbial Spoilage ... - NIH
Jan 2, 2021 · Bread and cereal products contribute to food waste with a loss rate of 26.3% during production, retail and wholesale and consumption in ...Missing: percentage global
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Effect of modified atmosphere packaging on quality of bread with ...
The study proved the 30% CO2 modified atmosphere to be the optimal storage condition. It allowed to preserve volume, water content and contributed at least to ...
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A Comprehensive Review on Bio-Preservation of Bread - MDPI
It is known as lipid degradation, and it results in off-odors and flavors. Rancidity lessens the bread′s shelf life and makes it highly unhealthy for consumers.<|control11|><|separator|>
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Improvement of whole wheat dough and bread properties by ...
In bread, emulsifiers contribute beneficial effects beyond their ability to stabilize systems that are thermodynamically unstable by lowering the surface ...
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Rheological properties and bread quality of frozen sweet dough with ...
Oct 28, 2016 · Addition of xanthan gum reduced the hardness of baked samples due to the effect of gum on dough water-binding capacity. According to Rosell et ...
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Synthetic Antioxidants Face Scrutiny in the U.S. as Looming Bans ...
Apr 28, 2025 · While the FDA recommends BHA at usage rates no higher than 0.02% of fat or oil content in food, and as low as 50 ppm in food packaging materials ...
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Enzymatic modification of wheat starch by a novel maltotetraose ...
Jan 15, 2025 · This study provided a novel maltotetraose-forming amylase for starch modification to retard retrogradation and improve bread quality.
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Microbial enzymes and major applications in the food industry
Oct 6, 2024 · They are often used in the baking industry as flavour boosters and anti-staling agents to improve bread quality (Sindhu et al., 2017). α- ...
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Enzyme applications in baking: From dough development to shelf ...
Enzymes play a crucial role in keeping baked goods fresh for longer by controlling moisture retention [19]. For instance, amylases prevent bread from drying ...
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Packaging to prolong shelf life of preservative-free white bread
With a low initial oxygen level of around 5% by volume, the bread shelf life could be prolonged up to 5–7 days. Previous article in issue; Next ...
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Improvement of Injera Shelf Life and Staling through Vacuum and ...
Nov 29, 2022 · The food inside vacuum packing is protected from external factors including moisture and oxidation processes, which allows the food to stay ...
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Effect of thermal packaging temperature on Chinese steamed bread ...
The VD and moisture content of thermal-vacuum packaged CSB significantly increased with the increase of the packaging temperature from 50 °C to 90 °C, while ...
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The Best Way to Store Bread | The Perfect Loaf
Jul 4, 2024 · The retrogradation process can be mostly halted by subjecting bread to very low temperatures, preventing moisture migration out of starches and ...<|separator|>
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Effect of freezing and frozen storage on the staling of part-baked bread
The changes observed on the frozen par-baked bread after thawing were attributed to the damage of bread structures produced by the ice crystallization, and the ...
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Effect of external conditions on the rate of post-baking chilling of bread
Aug 9, 2025 · Results showed that high air temperature increased chilling time and decreased water loss. Cooling rate was high at the beginning of the cooling ...
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22 Flavorful Ways to Use Stale Bread - Food & Wine
Sep 11, 2025 · Explore creative ways to use stale bread, from French toast to ribollita. These recipes transform day-old loaves into unforgettable meals ...
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15 International Recipes That Transform Stale Bread - Tasting Table
Sep 19, 2025 · Another tasty way to use up leftover bread is to make a batch of shrimp toast. ... Recipe: Tuscan Pappa Al Pomodoro. 9. Croque Madame (France).
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Drying Bread for Stuffing Guide - How to Make Stale Bread - Food52
Jul 23, 2020 · Cut your loaf into evenly sized cubes or slices (depending on what you're making), and toast them, dry, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
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Don’t toss out stale bread. Use it to create a hearty Tuscan soup and other Italian dishes | CNN
### Summary of Pappa al Pomodoro
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A new cookbook shows what to do with old bread using recipes from ...
Nov 2, 2025 · A new cookbook drawing from different peasant traditions focuses on using bits of old bread to create delectable and economical dishes.
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7 Ways the World Transforms Leftover Bread Into Delicious Dishes ...
The result is a rich, global tradition of repurposing such leftovers. In some cases, they're moistened into a thrifty mush; in others, a heel of ...
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The impact of freezing and toasting on the glycaemic response of ...
Results: The different storage and preparation conditions resulted in lower blood glucose IAUC values compared to both types of fresh white bread. In particular ...
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Bread waste valorization: a review of sustainability aspects and ...
Based on the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the food waste generated globally is estimated at 1.3 billion tons per year, resulting in unfavorable ...Introduction · Biochemicals and biofuels... · Sustainability assessments of...Missing: percentage | Show results with:percentage
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Process optimization for recycling of bread waste into bioethanol ...
Aug 15, 2022 · The current work demonstrates BW as promising feedstock for sustainable biofuel production with the aid of circular biorefining strategy.
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Revised Waste Framework Directive enters into force - Environment
Oct 16, 2025 · The revised Waste Framework Directive introduces binding food waste reduction targets for Member States to achieve, marking a significant step ...Missing: bakery | Show results with:bakery
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The power of prevention and valorisation – Environmental impacts ...
Wasting surplus bread represents a considerable economic loss for producers, retailers and consumers, but also has a devastating environmental impact ...Missing: staling | Show results with:staling
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Bread crumbs extrudates: A new approach for reducing bread waste
The aim of the study was to develop a new way of reducing bread wastes by processing bread crumbs in extrusion cooking.
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Day-End Dough-Nation program - Panera Bread
Our bakery-cafes donate their unsold bread, bagels, and baked goods to local non-profits at the end of the night through our Day-End Dough-Nation program.
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Save the Bread – Turning Surplus Bread into Baking Super-Flour
The project's primary goal is to create a circular economy in the local baking industry by upcycling unsold, packaged bread into a new product: super-flour.
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Crumbling the Barriers: New Report on How Upcycling Transforms ...
The report highlights that reducing food waste translates into significant financial benefits. For example, UK retailers under the Food and Drink Pact saw an 8% ...