LAUSR

To explore the bread making characteristics of germinated wheat flour, the current study focused on the componential evolution throughout the steamed bread making process. Hypoxia-germinated wheat (HGW) dough produced the maximum γ-aminobutyric acid as a result of high glutamic acid decarboxylase activity during fermentation compared to normoxia-germinated wheat (NGW) and sound wheat (SW). HGW was superior to NGW in terms of rheological properties and restored the organoleptic characteristics as SW bread. Blocking of α-amylase activity and protein polymerization demonstrated that the decline in pasting and gelation properties was not caused by changes in intrinsic starch and protein properties. Polymerization of α- and γ-gliadin to glutenin was facilitated in germinated wheat bread, while the cross-linking degree of glutenin-gliadin was suppressed. In comparison to NGW bread, more high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits but less α-gliadin fractions polymerized upon steaming of HGW dough. Results demonstrate that HGW has great potential to be exploited as a nutritious functional ingredient for wheat-based food.