In general, dough height, when supp

In general, dough height, when supplemented with fibers, decreased compared to the normal wheat dough. The interac- tions between flour proteins (gluten) and the fiber prevented the free expansion of the wheat dough during the proofing stage. The time to reach maximum dough height was reduced by the addition of inulin. The percentage of volume loss was also nullified by inulin, which is indicative of higher dough stability than the nonsupplemented flour. With respect to gas behavior, the time of maximum gas formation and the time at which the gas starts escaping from the dough were decreased by inulin, which revealed an increase in the dough permeability to carbon dioxide. Galliard (1986) explained that the fibers act as point of weakness or stress concentrations within the expanding dough cell walls.
Thus it is evident that the second generation prebiotic fibers overcome the demerits associated with the naturally occurring first generation fibers. Table 2 summarizes the effect of different prebiotic fibers.