retrogradations

Noun

retrogradation (countable and uncountable, plural retrogradations)

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