To advance the industrialization production of steamed buns, the current study explored the freeze-stability of unfermented, pre-fermented and par-steamed frozen dough. The results showed that the steamed bun made from unfermented dough with 2.0% yeast, the pre-fermented dough with a pre-fermented time of 30 min and the par-steamed dough with a pre-steamed time of 15 min showed the best sensory properties quality upon frozen storage. The gassing power of un- and pre-fermented dough gradually decreased, and dough with longer pre-fermented time exhibited more evident loss of gassing power. Freeze-induced depolymerization of gluten protein was the least distinct in the par-steamed dough, followed by the pre- and un-fermented dough, which was probably related to the superior freeze stability of glutenin-gliadin macro-crosslinks upon the pre-steaming stage. The surface hydrophobicity of gluten proteins of frozen dough decreased during the initial storage and was enhanced subsequently, which was related with the combined effects of the unfolding and synchronous aggregation induced by freezing and steaming, respectively. Moreover, the surface hydrophobicity of gluten in par-steamed frozen dough and steamed buns was more resistant to frozen storage, which was probably attributed to the established stable structure during the pre-steaming process.
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