From the completion of the baking process, loaf breads undergo changes which result in their appeal diminishing. Pentosans in wheat flour consist primarily of arabinoxylans
with smaller levels of arabinogalactan often present. Commercial pentosanase preparations contain a range of xylanase and arabinase activities that are believed to act
synergistically to produce the improving effects observed in breads when these preparations are added. The purpose of this study has been to investigate the significance of various carbohydrate hydrolases as anti-staling agents. Initially breads were treated with five purified endoxylanase preparations at a range of treatment levels
to establish suitable levels of addition. Whilst it was found that changes at a molecular level impacted significantly on crumb and crust characteristics for some of the preparations, it appears that not all endoxylanases have beneficial effects when used alone in a basic bread formulation.