Gluten protein network formation induced by a novel laminated sheeting process: Effect on the textural stability of cooked noodles.

To address the progressive textural deterioration of takeaway noodles during immersion, this study employed a novel laminated sheeting process for noodle preparation by integrating dough sheet with dough crumbs. The effects of the ratio of dough sheet to crumbs (R-DSTC) (1:0, 1:0.25, 1:0.75, and 1:1.5) and sheeting ratio (R-S) (20 %, 30 %, and 40 %) on the textural stability of cooked noodles were investigated. Both cooking quality and textural characteristics of noodles improved with increasing R-DSTC and R-S values. The highest hardness (4894.62 ± 92.39 g) and tensile distance (72.91 ± 3.24 mm) were observed under the conditions of R-DSTC-1:0.75 and R-S-30 %. Afterwards, noodles exhibited relatively less textural deterioration during immersion. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) confirmed that the R-DSTC-1:0.75 and R-S-30 % combination produced a denser protein network, with higher gluten junctions (921.25) and lower lacunarity (7.48). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings indicated that a compact gluten network effectively inhibited water penetration.