The role of peptides in regulating dough quality: A comprehensive review

Dough-based foods (DBFs) face persistent challenges, including nutritional limitations and quality deterioration. Peptides have shown great potential in improving dough quality. However, the wide variety of peptides leads to diverse effects on DBFs. The review summarizes the effects of source and employed protease of peptides on dough quality improvement efficacy, discussing key factors from a structural and functional perspective. It then analyzes the regulatory mechanisms by focusing on peptides interactions with key dough components: gluten, starch and fermentative microorganisms. Through a critical analysis of peptides' properties and their interactions with the dough matrix, the work aims to clarify the multi-target pathways of peptides regulating dough quality. Based on structure-function relationships, three core functional categories of peptide-based dough improvers are proposed, with corresponding preliminary design principles. Current applications of peptides in baked, boiled, and steamed DBFs are summarized, and critical challenges limiting their industrialization are identified. Finally, the review proposes structured future research directions to guide the targeted development of peptide-based dough improvers.