Effect of whole hempseed flour incorporation on the rheological, microstructural and nutritional characteristics of chapati – Indian flatbread

Abstract

Whole hempseed (WHS) flour was incorporated (0–40 g/100 g) in whole wheat (WW) flour to prepare composite flour (CF) blends. In the absence of additives, the dough structure weakened, and water absorption capacity and dough stability were significantly reduced in direct relation with the increasing content of WHS flour. At 40 g/100 g supplementation, the hardness index of WHS chapati decreased by 60% compared to WW chapati. The addition of vital gluten (VG) enabled the formation of a continuous structure between protein and starch molecules thus stabilizing the dough by 1.4 folds. The protein and fibre content increased from 12.39 ± 0.19 and 11.78 ± 0.62 in WW chapati to 18.55 ± 0.02 and 18.29 ± 0.52 in 30 g/100 g WHS chapati, respectively. Further, an increase of 5% in in-vitro protein digestibility was observed in the case of 30 g/100 g WHS chapati. The supplementation of chapati with WHS flour raised the total PUFA content from 58.1 ± 0.5 in WW chapati to 73.5 ± 0.23 in WHS chapati and, the essential fatty acids ratio also improved by 4.6 folds. The underutilized seeds of hemp can be used to enhance the nutritional value of staple foods such as chapati in terms of plant-based protein, omega-3, and omega-6 fatty acids.