Rheology of corn flour doughs was studied employing stress relaxation and two-cycle compression tests performed at different moisture (48-62%) and gum Arabic (0-2%) contents of the dough. The parameters determined from small-deformation (5% strain) stress relaxation experiments were the empirical constants k(1) and k(2), while two-compression cycle tests gave textural parameters like hardness, cohesiveness, springiness and adhesiveness of the doughs. Corn doughs were sensitive to moisture contents that were reflected by the values of the relaxation constants (k(1) and k(2)) and textural parameters. Addition of gum markedly affected sensory adhesiveness and cohesiveness. These values were interrelated with sensory attributes using principal component analysis (PCA) to obtain suitable condition for handling of dough. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.