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Title
Abstract
The main objective of the paper was to determine sorption properties of extruded wheat and rye crispbreads. Those sorption properties were tested using static and dynamic methods. The scope of this study included the analysis of isotherms and kinetics of sorption, which were measured in an environment showing the following water activities: 0; 0.329; 0.648; 0.903; and 1. The tested wheat and rye crispbreads were taken directly from the production line. The water content and water activity in them did not correspond to values as determined on the basis of water vapour sorption isotherms. Similarly, the sorption properties measured under the dynamic conditions did not correlate with the values determined on the basis of measurements taken under the static conditions. From the GAB equation, the volume of a wheat crispbread monolayer was measured. It was 5.13 g/100 g d.m., and this figure corresponded to the water activity being 0.110. As for the rye crispbread, this parameter equalled 4.68 g/100 g d.m. with the water activity being 0.109. The two types of the crispbread tested differed on the initial water activity and water contents. Thus, the intensity of the sorption process varied depending on the water activity in a given environment. The water desorption was stated to be very slow and led to a state of pseudo-equilibrium. The adsorption depended on the difference between the water activity in the crispbreads and in the environment. The greater this difference was, the higher the adsorbed water amount was, and the more time was necessary to reach the state of equilibrium. The values of equilibrium water content, calculated on the basis of the adsorption kinetics, were close to the values obtained by using the static method. However, while using the dynamic method, the values obtained were usually higher by more than 4% if compared with the staticly measured ones. It seems that the changes observed in the quantities of water adsorbed by the crispbreads, depending on the water activity in a given environment, result from structural transformations of some particular components of the crispbread.
Keywords
crispbread, sorption isotherms, sorption kinetics