Enhancing freeze-thaw tolerance in pre-fermented frozen dough: The role of mixing temperature and proofing degree.

This study investigated the effect of critical process treatments, mixing temperature and proofing degree, on the freeze-thaw (F/T) tolerance of frozen dough by analyzing moisture status, yeast activity, and protein conformation. Results showed that optimized process parameters alleviated the quality deterioration of frozen dough during F/T by regulating yeast gas production and dough gas retention. Specifically, compared with the control, the optimized group increased the specific volume of frozen dough steamed bread by 22.07% and decreased its hardness by 17.32%. Further studies found that mixing temperatures of 5 °C and 10 °C reduced dough viscoelasticity and effectively inhibited water migration, while yeast gas production was stabilized. Protein conformation analysis revealed that optimized mixing temperatures and proofing degrees reduced gluten degradation during F/T. This was reflected in a more stable protein secondary structure, less reduction in the height and width of gluten molecular chains, and fractal dimension of gluten networks.