Utilization of a Maltotetraose‐Producing Amylase as a Whole Wheat Bread Improver: Dough Rheology and Baking Performance

A maltotetraose‐producing enzyme (G4‐amylase) was utilized to improve the baking performance of whole‐grain wheat flour. Whole‐grain bread dough prepared with G4‐amylase showed reduced water absorption and increased development time, while the dough stability was not affected. Also, the G4‐amylase‐treated samples exhibited lower Mixolab torque values than the control upon heating and cooling. Rheological measurements showed the decreased ratio of Rₘₐₓ/E and increased tan δ, clearly demonstrating that the viscous characteristics of whole‐grain bread dough became dominant with increasing levels of G4‐amylase. The use of G4‐amylase produced whole‐grain wheat breads with a variety of maltooligosaccharides, primarily maltotetraose that positively contributed to the bread volume (1.2‐fold higher than the control). Moreover, G4‐amylase delayed the crumb firming of whole‐grain wheat bread during a 7‐d storage period, showing that it can function as an antiretrogradation agent to enhance the quality attributes of whole‐grain wheat bread.