Development of gluten-free biscuits made from composite flour of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp)

Abstract

Biscuit is a ready-to-eat, convenient, and inexpensive food product. It is one of many baked products often make with wheat flour. Nonetheless, people with gluten intolerance cannot consume wheat flour. In this research, gluten-free biscuits made with a composite flour of cassava and cowpea with different ratio (90:10, 80:20, and 70:30). The result has shown that gluten-free biscuits with 70:30 gave the highest dietary fibre content (20.54±0.32%). The combination of 70:30 cassava flour (CF) and cowpea flour (CPF) gave lightness (L*) value 60.58±1.22 means darker colour to biscuits with 4.13±0.07% of moisture content. From the scoring test, the panellists were perceived F3 as having less crunchy texture (3.51±1.20), less intensity of foreign aroma (2.60±0.87), brown colour (4.37±1.10), and slight foreign taste detected (3.01±1.10). From the hedonic test result, the panellists were neutral in the acceptances of texture (4.44±1.37), foreign aroma (4.94±1.20), and colour (4.96±1.2). The panellists have slightly liked the overall acceptance and foreign taste of gluten-free biscuits within the value of 5.01±0.97 and 5.04±1.20. Thus, the study suggests that F3 consist of 70:30 CF and CPF is selected as the best formulation to make gluten-free biscuits.