retrogradation

Plural: retrogradations

Noun

• Motion in a retrograde manner.
• Decline, degradation.
• A reaction that takes place in gelatinized starch when the amylose and amylopectin chains realign themselves, largely responsible for bread becoming stale.

Examples

• The major reason that bread stales is not moisture loss, but rather a process called retrogradation, in which the starch molecules in the bread crystallize.