19/10/2023 - Maude DUFOUR's thesis defence

Summary

Understanding the formation of bread dough, and therefore the structuring of the gluten network, is vital for anticipating the behaviour of this material on the production line, particularly in industrial baking. Considering that kneading and flour hydration are decisive levers for controlling the behaviour of doughs in production, the aim of our study is to specify the relationships between this behaviour and the gluten network. Links were established between the distribution of water in the dough, the morphology of the network and the rheological properties of the dough during kneading. The characteristics of a dough considered to be ‘optimal’ were determined at different scales: a specific hydration state of the dough, identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (supramolecular scale), a gluten network with fine, interconnected filaments (microscopic scale), a dough with a cross-linked gluten network and high extensional viscosity (macroscopic scale), and a power curve during kneading with a ‘Gaussian’ profile. A phenomenological model for predicting the behaviour of doughs during kneading has thus been developed. Once it has been substantiated, this model could be used in an industrial context to help operators make kneading adjustments or determine the optimum hydration of flours. This type of decision-support tool would enable the company to improve control over the quality of its products and processes.

Composition of the jury

Rapporteurs before defence:

• Marie-Hélène MOREL Research Director, INRAE, Montpellier, France
• Marco RAMAIOLI Research Director, INRAE, Saclay, France

Examiners:    

• Evelyne VIGNEAU Professor, Oniris, Nantes, France
• Tiphaine LUCAS Ponts, Eaux et Forêts Engineer, INRAE, Rennes, France
• Guilhem PAGES Research Engineer, INRAE, Theix, France

Thesis supervisor: Guy DELLA VALLE Research engineer, INRAE, Nantes, France

Thesis co-supervisor:

• Luc SAULNIER Research Director, INRAE, Nantes, France
• Kamal KANSOU Research Fellow, INRAE, Nantes, France

Guest(s):

• Florence HUGON Research and Development Director, La Boulangère & Co, Essarts en Bocage, France
• Aurore DUGUE Raw Materials and Processes Research Manager, La Boulangère & Co, Essarts en Bocage, France