Comparison of Unifactorial and Mixture Approaches for Optimization of Mixing Time and Flour and Water Contents in Breadmaking Formulas

ABSTRACT A unifactorial approach was compared with a multifactorial approach, based on mixture theory, using bread optimization. The effects of dough weight and formula, as well as mixing time, on bread properties were investigated. The unifactorial approach indicated that increasing the weight of water added to flour increased bread weight. Changing the weight of water in dough also changed the proportion of all the ingredients and total dough weight. The unifactorial approach could not unequivocally indicate the variable responsible for increases in bread weight. Conversely, the multifactorial approach clearly indicated that increased dough weight increased bread weight.