Comparison of the expansion ability of fermented maize flour and cassava starch during baking.

The modifications occurring during the fermentation (at 20 or 35 °C) and drying (under the sun or in an oven at 40 °C) of maize flour (ogi) and cassava starch along with their expansion ability during baking were characterised and compared. A high temperature accelerated the fermentation but favoured lactic acid synthesis for maize ogi and butyric acid for cassava starch. The increase in acidity was higher for maize, but dried maize ogi did not evidence any expansion ability whatever the experimental conditions. Cassava starch that had been fermented at 20 °C then sun-dried presented the highest expansion ability. It was associated with low paste viscosities and high swelling and solubilisation values. When the fermentation was carried out at 35 °C, an annealing of cassava starch occurred that delayed starch gelatinisation and which could be involved in its lower baking expansion ability. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry.