Flavour Science: Chapter 20. Chemical Markers for Bitterness in Whole Wheat Bread

In a recent study, our group characterized eight compounds that contributed to the bitterness of a whole wheat bread sample. The goal of this study was to investigate the chemical profile of these bitter compounds in relation to the perceived bitterness of three commercial whole wheat breads and one refined wheat bread. The compounds with the highest correlation to bitterness intensity for the crust were 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF, r2=0.93) and 2,3-dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4(H)-pyran-4-one (DDMP, r2=0.95); for the crumb, the compounds with the highest correlation to bitterness were L-tryptophan (TRP, r2=0.85) and the tryptophan Amadori rearrangement product (ARP, r2=0.92). In summary, these four compounds were identified as potential chemical markers to predict bitterness of whole wheat bread.