Mechanism by which β-glucanase improves the quality of fermented barley flour-based food products

The enrichment of beta-glucan in barley significantly decreases the quality of dough and baked bread, and beta-glucanase can improve dough and bread quality. Nevertheless, the mechanism by which beta-glucanase improves the quality of fermented barley flour-based products is still poorly understood. The gluten microcosmic structure, molecular structure and yeast gas production capacity were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and F3 rheological fermentation techniques. The results showed that beta-Glucanase can degrade the high-molecular-weight beta-glucan to low-molecular-weight oligosaccharide fragments, which reduces the viscosity of the beta-glucans, promotes cross-linking between the gluten molecules, and indirectly improves the gluten network structure, thereby alleviating the negative effects of beta-glucans. The beta-glucosidase produced during yeast metabolism can further hydrolyse low-molecular-weight oligosaccharides into reducing sugars that can be used by yeast, increasing the carbon sources available to yeasts and the gas production capability of yeasts.