Influence of enzymes on rheological, microstructure and quality characteristics of parotta - an unleavened Indian flat bread

Enzymes are used in the baking and milling industries to control dough properties and improve the quality of finished products. The role of enzymes in the baking process of an unleavened Indian flat bread, namely South Indian parotta, was studied. In this connection, comparisons have been made on the effects of different enzymes such as fungal (alpha)-amylase (FA), glucose oxidase (GO), proteinase and xylanase on rheological characteristics and microstructure of parotta dough and its relation to the overall quality characteristics of baked parotta. Addition of GO increased, while FA, xylanase and proteinase decreased farinograph stability. Extensograph resistance to extension increased with GO or xylanase and decreased with FA or proteinase. The extensibility increased with FA, xylanase or proteinase and decreased with GO. The microstructure of parotta dough with different enzymes revealed that the use of proteinase improved the continuous gluten formation compared with the control and the other three enzymes, FA, xylanase and GO. This could be due to the proteinase enzyme breaking larger protein fibrils into smaller fibrils and thus enhancing the continuous gluten film formation. A similar observation was also noted in the microstructure of baked parotta layers. The microstructure of parotta with proteinase enzyme showed a continuous network of protein films compared with a cluster of protein films in parotta with GO. In the case of xylanase-treated parotta, the starch granules were deformed completely and these deformed starch granules were found sticking to the protein films. In parottas prepared with GO and FA, only a few starch granules with faint outlines were visible. Generally speaking, the overall quality score of parotta decreased to 68 and 64 with the use of FA and, GO respectively, as against the control parotta score of 74. The score increased to 92 and 82 with the addition of proteinase and xylanase, respectively.