Design of a quality index for the objective evaluation the quality of breads

Bread quality index was established using the instrumental analysis of bread parameters 12 that influence the consumers’ acceptability. The instrumental methods that describe 13 bread appearance, structure and texture have been chosen in order to enable the 14 identification and quantification of main discrepancies of wheat bread produced by 15 different processes such as fully baked frozen bread (FBF), partially baked frozen (PBF) 16 and bread from unfermented frozen dough (UFD) in comparison to bread baked 17 conventionally (CON). The quality index was calculated as a sum of grouped linearly 18 normalized variables multiplied by group factor of significance and relatively to the 19 CON bread. The significant linear correlation was established between instrumental and 20 descriptive sensory analysis of bread appearance (r=0.966), crumb structure (r=0.731), 21 crust appearance (r=0.691) and texture (r=0.664). The presented quality index could be 22 very useful for bread producers when innovative production processes are applied. 23