Study of the effect of DATEM. 1. Influence of fatty acid chain length on rheology and baking

To answer the question of which fatty acid residue is the most effective, d iacetyltartaric esters of monoglycerides (DATEMs) with fatty acids of chain lengths 6:0-20:0 were synthesized. The activity of synthesized DATEMs and commercial DATEM products was studied by means of rheological methods and a microscale baking test with 10 g of flour. Variation of the acyl residue f rom 6:0 to 22:0 showed that stearic acid (18:0) had the best effect on the baking activity of DATEM (loaf volume increased by 62%). DATEMs containing unsaturated fatty acids (18:1, 18:2) or DATEMs produced from diacylglycerol s instead of monoacylglycerols showed a slight increase of the loaf volumes . A slight effect of DATEM on the rheology of dough was observed. However, much greater was the effect on the gluten isolated from doughs prepared wit h DATEM. The resistance of gluten to extension was increased after the addi tion of increasing amounts of DATEM (0.1-0.5%). Within the series of DATEMs derived from the homologous series of monoacylglycerols the product based on glycerol monostearate (18:0) showed a maximum increase of the gluten res istance.