Hydrocolloids have traditionally been investigated as an alternative to gluten for making good quality products for coeliac patients.
Researchers from the University of Valladolid, Spain, investigated the interactions between hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) (2-4 g/100 g of flour), psyllium (0-4 g/100 g of flour) and water level (90-110 g/100 g of flour) in gluten-free breadmaking. This study was published on Journal of Cereal Science 61, 8-15, 2015.
Psyllium incorporation reduced the pasting temperature and compliance values, and increased elastic (G') and viscous (G") moduli values. In contrast, HPMC addition had no important effects on pasting properties and compliance values, but also increased G' and G" values. Psyllium inclusion reduced bread specific volume and increased bread hardness, while there were hardly differences in the bread specific volume and hardness between the percentages of HPMC studied. In addition, when the dough hydration level was increased, there was a decrease in the influence of hydrocolloids on dough rheology and specific volume and hardness of breads.