Effect of baking powder in wheat flour dough on its thermal conduction during heating

To understand the puffing phenomenon of wheat flour dough, the effect of baking powder (BP) on thermal-physical properties during heating was investigated. The effect of BP on the thermo-physical properties including thermal conductivity, heat capacity, and thermal diffusivity, was evaluated at 30 min after preparing dough samples with or without BP at 20°C, 40°C, 60°C and 80°C. The increasing velocity of the temperature in the samples with BP during heating was higher than that in the samples without BP. Thermal conductivity in each sample correlated with the retardation phenomenon irrespective of the presence of BP, while the increasing velocity of the temperature along the x-axis of the samples with BP was higher than that of the samples without BP. Thermal conductivity of the samples irrespective of the presence of BP tended to increase, as the temperature and moisture increased. Thermal diffusivity based on the values of thermal conductivity, heat capacity and density greatly increased with increasing temperature and moisture content of the samples with BP, which is essential for the puffing phenomenon in the baking of bread.