Assessing the Impact of Adding Chlorella vulgaris, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and Tetraselmis chuii Microalgae on the Structure of Wheat Dough and Bread

This study explores the effects of Chlorella vulgaris, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, and Tetraselmis chuii on wheat dough rheology and bread quality. T. chuii showed the most favorable impact on the dough structure, while P. tricornutum had a minimal influence. However, C. vulgaris causes a reduction in dough development time, stability, protein weakening, starch gelatinization, gel stability, and starch gelification obtained from the MixoLab dough mixer. C. vulgaris leads to a reduction in elasticity and resistance to extensibility ratio (R/E), thereby negatively affecting the quality of the resulting bread. Moreover, meaningful correlations were established between the dough rheology parameters derived from both fundamental (SAOS measurements in the rheometer) and empirical tests (MixoLab and Texturometer - Kieffer Extensibility Rig). Pasting curves conducted in the MixoLab, utilizing the C2 parameter associated with protein denaturation, have the potential to predict dough´s R/E ratio and loaf volume.