Phenolic Acids Added To Bread Dough Retain Antioxidant Activity During Baking

South Korean researchers have found that the antioxidant activity of phenolic acids mixed into  bread dough is reduced by the mixing process, but is then recovered during fermentation and baking. The finding is “important for the development of functional foods,” the researchers said. Phenolic acids are plentiful in whole grains in certain cell walls and in the seed coat and embryo of wheat. But the milling process removes these. For the study, four phenolic acids (caffeic, ferulic, syringic and gallic) were mixed with wheat flour. The most pronounced antioxidant effect was found in caffeic acid, researchers said, adding that phenolic acid recovery after baking was 74–80 percent. The retention of antioxidant activity during the baking process “has potential health benefits for consumers,” they concluded.