Effect of highland barley treated with heat–moisture on interactions between gluten and starch granules in dough

This study aimed to investigate the effect of heat–moisture treatment (HMT)-modified highland barley (HB) on interactions between gluten and starch granules in dough. The results demonstrated that HB addition increased the water absorption, weakened the extensibility, increased the storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G″), decreased tan δ (G"/G') of dough. The textural and stress relaxation results showed that HB increased the hardness and elastic modulus (E2) of the dough, requiring more stress to compress the dough. Also, the increase in sulfhydryl and surface hydrophobicity all confirmed the addition of HB induced the deterioration of gluten network structure. Furthermore, HMT-HB improved farinograph quality number of flour, decreased tan δ of dough compared with HB. The E2, coefficient of viscosity (η) and hardness increased, while the relaxation time (τ) decreased with increasing HMT strength of HB, suggesting the formation of a tighter dough structure. The secondary structure and microstructure analyses revealed that the HMT could reduce the damage of HB to dough quality. These results indicated that HMT had the potential to enhance the interaction between starch and protein, leading to a denser dough matrix. This study facilitates the basic theory for the comprehensive utilization of HB in the food industry.