An Innovative Approach in the Baking of Bread with CO₂ Gas Hydrates as Leavening Agents

Gas (guest) molecules are trapped in hydrogen-bonded water molecules to form gas hydrates (GH), non-stoichiometric solids that resemble ice. High pressure and low temperature are typical conditions for their development, with van der Waals forces joining the host and guest molecules. This article study investigates the application of CO₂ gas hydrates (CO₂ GH) as a leavening agent in baking, with particular reference to the production of wheat bread. The main intention of this study is to better understand the complex bread dough formed by CO₂ GH and its impact on product quality. This may enable the adaptation of CO₂ GH in baking applications, such as those that can specifically influence wheat bread properties, and so the final bread quality. The present research further examines the comparative evaluation of yeast bread with the GH bread's impact on bread quality parameters. The amount of GH was varied from 10 to 60%/amount of flour for the GH breads. The GH breads were compared with the standard yeast bread for different quality parameters such as volume, texture, and pore analysis. The results show that the bread with 20% and 40% GH obtained the best results in terms of volume and pore size. Moreover, this article also sheds some light on the future applications of the use of CO₂ GH as leavening agents in foods. This knowledge could help to create new procedures and criteria for improved GH selection for applications in bread making and other bakery or food products.