LAUSR

Abstract To develop non-destructive indices for monitoring the progression of bread staling, the changes in the free vibration responses of baguette bread were examined at different storage times (days 0, 2 and 4). The storage time considerably affected the vibration responses of the bread samples. Except for natural frequencies in the x (wnx) and z (wnz) directions, vibration responses were highly correlated with instrumental texture parameters during storage of the bread; that is, the breads with firmer and less springy crumbs (the stale breads) had lower damping ratios in the x (ξx) and z (ξz) directions. The lower damping capacities of the stale breads were concomitant with their higher values of root mean square for acceleration ( a R M S z ) and angular velocity signal ( V R M S x ). The results suggested that the vibration responses are reliable indices for non-destructively monitoring the progress of staling in baguette bread.