## 4 Discussion
### Strategies to Improve Gluten-Free Dough Rheology and Bread Characteristics
#### Correct Management of Kneading and Total Water Content  
Kneading, water absorption, and total water content significantly affect both wheat and gluten-free doughs [12]. In particular, water is an essential ingredient, and must be dosed wisely. The amount of water determines dough consistency, and affects its fermentation [13; 14; 17]. In dough, it has been reported to have the biggest impact on rheological properties [2], influencing the conformational state of biopolymers, interactions between constituents, and contributing to dough structure [13; 14; 15]. In bread, water content and its distribution determine textural properties such as crumb softness and crispness, and shelf life [14; 15; 17]. It plays a key role in starch gelatinization and, consequently, has a significant impact on the performance of the final product [13; 14]. The water/starch ratio (along with other parameters, such as temperature, the amylose/amylocetin ratio, granule size distribution, and the presence of sugars, salt, protein, and lipids) has been reported to be involved in the most significant changes to starch structure, notably melting, gelatinization, and fragmentation [13; 14; 15; 17]. Given the important plasticizer effect of water, most gluten-free breads tend to contain higher water levels, and have a more fluid-like structure [14]. Furthermore, wheat dough formulations typically adjust water content using a farinograph, following the ICC-Standard No 115/1 method [22]. This method is widely used to determine the exact amount of water necessary to hydrate the dough to the optimal consistency of 500 BU [1; 8; 10; 20; 22]. Although the method has also been applied to predict water absorption in gluten-free bread formulations, it has been found to be of limited use in the analysis of starch-based formulations containing hydrocolloids. These limitations are reported to be due to the lack of gluten, notably its network-forming properties [22]. Therefore, [PERSON] et al. (2018) [22] developed a simple method to predict the optimal water content in gluten-free formulations containing hydrocolloids. It considers the water absorption properties of the base flour and the hydrocolloid (based on the amount added to the formulation) to determine the optimal amount of water to be added. The latter authors found that the water holding capacity (WHC) of the tested hydrocolloids was significantly different. WHC was highest for xanthan gum and guar gum, indicating cold swelling properties. On the other hand, sodium alginate and pectin had almost no swelling power, demonstrating high solubility and hot swelling. These characteristics are linked to the source, chain length, molecular weight, distribution, and polar charge of the hydrocolloid. The authors propose an improvement strategy that considers the WHC of single hydrocolloids, and carefully optimizes water content. They reported that sodium alginate at 2%, together with optimal total water content, significantly improved gluten-free doughs and bread quality parameters. Mixing parameters, such as the type of mixing arm, kneading time, and method, have been found to significantly influence dough rheological properties and bread characteristics. The correct management of mixing parameters may significantly improve dough aeration, and its capacity to retain gases. Specifically, [PERSON], (2015) [13] highlighted that the type of mixing arm had no significant effect on aeration, but longer kneading increased specific volume. Conversely, both the mixing arm and the mixing speed had a significant effect on bread volume and texture. Specific volume was higher and bread was softer when prepared with a wire whip, at a low mixing speed, and kneaded for longer. The same study found that less-hydrated gluten-free doughs tended to lack the ability to retain gases released during proofing, while highly hydrated doughs could be fermented for longer, improving specific volume [13]. Regarding mixing methods, [PERSON] et al.