Among the great quantity of volatile compounds that have been detected in baked cereal products, they do not all have the same importance for the final aroma. The aroma contribution of a determined compound depends on its concentration, but also of its odorant power that is determined by its odour threshold, the minimum quantity of a compound that must be present to be detected by olfaction. This value is usually known as odour activity value (OAV) (Acree, Barnard, & Cunningham, 1984). The AEDA technique allows the screening of the most relevant aromatic compounds for the final aroma of a product on the basis of the FD (flavour dilution factor) calculation. FD is proportional to the OAV of the compound in the air. Only the compounds with important FD factors will be quantified to obtain the OAV and to approximate their odour threshold value. With this procedure, it has been possible to make a characterization of the most potent odorants in baked cereal products, mainly in bread.
With the tendency to reduce delays of processing in bakery, there was a need to determine the impact of the different steps in the elaboration process of baked cereal products in the modification of flavour.