Studie av vatten- och porfördelningen i bröd med hjälp av neutron- och röntgenmikrotomografi

Purpose and goal

Lantmännen has through their participation in the neutron tomography measurements increased their understanding regarding the usage of advanced imaging methods in their product and process development work. The combination of neutron and X-ray tomography showed to be a powerful approach for detecting the distribution and re-distribution of water in proofed dough to fully baked bread. Some method development and validation with standardised techniques still remain, to confirm the roles that starch, and protein have on the measured signal when using neutrons.

Expected results and effects

In this study, neutron tomography has been performed on bread products, from proofed dough to fully baked bread. A higher contrast was detected in the outer layer of proofed dough, which later on decreased as the bread became fully baked. Our hypothesis is that this is related to the evaporation of water during baking, followed by a higher deposition of starch and proteins in the crust of the bread. A better understanding of the role that water has during the entire bread baking process will allow optimization of both quality and shelf life, which will lead to reduced food waste.

Planned approach and implementation

This project has been carried out by Lantmännen, RISE, Lund Faculty of Engineering, and AgroSUP Dijon. Pre-studies with neutron tomography were conducted at the IMAGINE beamline at Leon Brillouin Laboratoire (LLB) in Saclay, France, followed by combined neutron and X-ray tomography at the D50 beamline at Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France. The project has focused on testing different methods for optimizing the contrast of water in bread, by mixing doughs with either normal or deuterated water, but also using Gadolinium-based contrast agents, in samples produced by Lantmännen.