Effects of rheological properties of rice dough during manufacture of rice cracker on the quality of the end product.

Influence of the viscoelastic properties of rice dough on the mechanical properties and the microstructure of rice crackers had been experimentally investigated to predict and control the quality of the rice cracker in the early stage of the lengthy manufacturing process. Various rice doughs steamed for 5, 30, or 60 minutes and kneaded for 5, 10, or 15 minutes were examined. Longer steaming and kneading resulted in lower G' and G" and higher tan δ, specific volume of the rice crackers, decreased non-uniform and deficient network, and thinner cell wall in rice cracker sections. There was a high correlation between tan δ of rice dough and specific volume of the rice cracker samples (R2 >0.79). The hardness of the rice crackers increased with extending the kneading time for 5 minutes and 30 minutes as the tan δ increased, while those of the rice crackers made from the rice doughs steamed for 60 minutes decreased inversely. These results indicated that qualities of rice crackers can be predicted and quantified by measuring viscoelasticity of actual rice doughs during the process. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.