Potential application of enzymes to improve quality of dry noodles by reducing water absorption of inferior-quality flour.

This study has investigated the characteristics of dry noodles made with Korean domestic wheat flours using enzyme treatment for reducing water absorption to improve noodle-making performance. The water solvent retention capacity (SRC) values of flour treated with α-amylase and xylanase significantly decreased with increasing enzyme concentrations up to 0.025% (flour weight basis), which confirmed the enzyme effect on reducing the water absorption capacity of damaged starches and arabinoxylans. Enzyme-treated cooked noodles showed changes in textural characteristics, depended on the enzyme type, water amount, and drying method. Applying α-amylase for reducing the water absorption capacity of flour could mitigate the issue of inferior dry-noodle-making performance. Sensory evaluation showed improved preference attributes of cooked noodles with α-amylase treatment. In conclusion, the α-amylase application could improve the quality of dry-noodle made of Korean domestic wheat flour by diminishing the undesirable effect of damaged starch in flour related to noodle quality.