Effect of pectin and emulsifiers on quality and stability of wheat composite bread

Fortification and supplementation of wheat flour with other flour sources containing essential amino acids such as lysine, for bread production could help overcome the problem of protein- energy malnutrition. Indigenous and largely underutilised crops such as millet and bambara groundnut could be incorporated into staple foods such as bread. In this study, the rheological behaviour and quality characteristics of dough and bread made from wheat-millet-bambara flour (WMB) containing mixtures of emulsifiers and apple pectin were investigated for their suitability in breadmaking. WMB was prepared by substituting wheat flour (WF) with 25% each of millet flour (MF) and bambara flour. Pectin was added (1.0-2.0 g/100 g flour) and emulsifiers namely sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL) (0.25-0.4 g/100 g flour), polysorbate 80 (PS80) (0.5-0.8 g/100 g flour), and diacetyl tartaric acid ester of monoglycerides (DATEM) (0.1-0.25 g/100 g flour) were mixed and added in different proportions. A Mixolab was used to measure the rheological behaviour of dough. The resulting bread was analysed for physical characteristics, nutritional composition, and organoleptic properties. Bread samples were stored at room temperature (±25℃), refrigeration (4℃) and freezing (-18℃) for 7 days. The bread samples were then investigated for firmness, compression energy, colour, visual observation of mould growth (VO), total aerobic plate count (APC) and fungal counts (FC). From the Mixolab analysis of composite dough, a significant increase (p<0.05) in the dough development time and dough stability were observed. The loaf volume, specific volume and proximate composition of the composite bread increased significantly (p<0.05) relative to the control. The protein content (33%), protein digestibility (85%) and some essential amino acids (lysine: 54.6%; threonine: 36.4%) increased significantly (p<0.05) compared to wheat bread (control) WF. Sensory evaluation revealed above-average acceptability for composite bread. Also, the pectin-treated bread (PTB) was significantly different (p<0.05) in firmness (8.47 N) compared to wheat flour bread (WF) (10.33 N) at -18℃ after 7 days of storage. The WF had the lowest firmness (8.32 N) at room temperature (±25℃) storage lower than the PTB (9.25 N) and emulsifier-treated bread (ETB) (12.37 N) after 3 days storage at room temperature (±25℃). Bread firmness decreased significantly (p<0.05) with an increase in storage time for all samples. The APC for all bread samples ranged from 3.02 log cfu/g to 6.19 log cfu/g and fungal count (FC) ranged from 3.48 log cfu/g to 4.86 log cfu/g. The PTB had the highest APC (6.19 log cfu/g) among bread samples stored at room temperature (±25℃) while it also had the lowest APC (3.02 log cfu/g) at the same storage temperature (±25℃). It was found that all bread samples stored at -18℃ did not show no sign of mould growth. The use of bakery products’ acceptable limits of emulsifiers and pectin for this study significantly improved the dough rheology, physical characteristics, nutritional and sensory acceptability of WMB composite bread. The shelf life studies showed improved firmness, low microbial counts and a slower rate of degradation in cold storage conditions. This study revealed that there is potential for supplementation and fortification of wheat bread with flours from millet and bambara sources.