Characteristics of remixed fermentation dough and its influence on the quality of steamed bread

•Effect of remixed flour on the properties of dough and steamed bread was studied.•Remixed fermentation dough improved the whiteness and the chewiness of steamed bread.•10% remixed flour resulted separate spherical gas cells of steamed bread.•Remixed flour decreased the water mobility in remixed dough system.•Starch hydrolysis of steamed bread decreased with increased amount of remixed flour. In this study, the effects of the amount of remixed flour on the properties of remixed fermentation dough and the quality of Chinese steamed breads were investigated. The hardness, chewiness and whiteness of steamed bread increased when the amount of remixed flour was higher than 10g/100g, whereas the specific volume of steamed bread significantly decreased. SEM analysis demonstrated that the gas cells of the steamed bread remained as a discrete spherical or oval-like entity only at 10g/100g level of remixed flour. Time-domain NMR showed that water migrated from T22 population to T21 population with increasing the amount of remixed flour. The XRD results indicated that starch in the steamed bread with remixed flour was gelatinized. A significant decrease of both the rate and extent of starch hydrolysis of the steamed bread was observed when flour was remixed.