Effects of Water and Gelatinized Starch on the Viscoelasticity of Pizza Dough and the Texture of Pizza Crust

The soft texture of the pizza crust rim is generated by baking at a high temperature for a short period in a stone oven. In the case of baking in an electric oven, the pizza dough is baked at a much lower temperature and for a longer period, resulting in a harder texture. To improve the texture of electric oven-baked pizza crust, the effects of water and gelatinized starch on the viscoelasticity of pizza dough and the texture of pizza crust were investigated. Rheological properties (storage modulus, loss modulus, and yield stress) of pizza dough decreased with an increase in water content. When wheat flour in the dough was partially replaced with pre-gelatinized wheat starch, the rheological properties of the dough were maintained even at a high-water content. These results indicate that water-enriched dough can be prepared with gelatinized starch and baked using an electric oven. There was no significant difference in apparent density between the conventional and modified pizza crusts. Water content of the crumb part of the modified crust was significantly higher than that of the conventional crust. Texture analysis revealed that the modified pizza crust showed significantly lower stress at high strain than the conventional crust. In addition, sensory evaluation showed that the modified pizza crust exhibited greater firmness and stickiness than the conventional crust, which was attributed to the increased water content with gelatinized starch of the dough.