Dough strength

The dough strength is a property of dough that enables it to withstand the mechanical stress of the breadmaking process through a balanced combination of viscosity and elasticity. ^[1] While the exact definitions of dough strength (also known as flour strength, baking strength, flour protein strength, gluten strength ^[2] ) vary to the point that some researchers avoid using the term altogether for its lack of precision, ^[3] generally the dough strength is considered to have three components: ^[4]

• extensibility allows the dough to be stretched and keep the new shape, so that the bread rolls and loaves can be formed;
• elasticity allows the dough to spring back after deformation. Hearth breads made of dough with little elasticity will go flat instead of baking up;
• tenacity is the overall resistance of dough to stretching. High tenacity makes dough hard to work with during the makeup.

Typically the dough strength is measured with an alveograph (W factor). ^[2]

References

1. Wooding et al. 1999, p. 800.
2. Jødal & Larsen 2021, p. 3.
3. Chen et al. 2009, p. 585.
4. Gisslen 2016, p. 121.

Sources

• Chen, R. Y.; Seabourn, B. W.; Xie, F.; Herald, T. J. (2009). "A Modified Extensigraph Method for Evaluating Dough Properties of Hard Wheat Breeding Lines". Cereal Chemistry. 86 (5): 582–589. doi:10.1094/CCHEM-86-5-0582. ISSN   0009-0352.
• Gisslen, Wayne (2016). "Dough Strength". Professional Baking. Wiley. ISBN   978-1-119-14844-9 . Retrieved 2025-03-04.
• Jødal, Anne-Sophie Schou; Larsen, Kim Lambertsen (2021-03-05). "Investigation of the relationships between the alveograph parameters" (PDF). Scientific Reports. 11 (1). doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-84959-3 . ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   7935897 . PMID   33674707 . Retrieved 2025-02-23.
• Wooding, A. R.; Kavale, S.; MacRitchie, F.; Stoddard, F. L. (1999). "Link Between Mixing Requirements and Dough Strength" (PDF). Cereal Chemistry. 76 (5): 800–806. doi:10.1094/CCHEM.1999.76.5.800. ISSN   0009-0352.