The investigation of bread staling by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence system

Bread staling mechanism has been investigated for a long time but, since the mechanism of bread staling is a rather complex phenomenon, it is not entirely understood. The economic losses caused by bread staling are incredibly important for the world economy. It is generally accepted that starch reorganization is major cause of bread staling. Starch crystallization in bread increases with time during staling. The crystallites formation due to retrogradation of starch (mainly amylopectin) has been studied by both X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In this study, Ncoh / NComp (R) intensity ratios are measured as functions of storage time with a Si(Li) detector using Am–241 annular source. The texture measurements have also been performed. Our experimental results are presented and discussed in this study.