Influence of pre-baking and frozen storage on the technological and nutritional quality of a multi-seed bread

Abstract

Today's tendency is to prepare baking products by replacing wheat flour with wholemeal flours, and submitting them to preparation processes so they can be eaten at any time, to guarantee their nutritional and organoleptic properties, such as high-value nutritional food, and to extend the shelf life of the product, for more demanding consumers. This work's originality is shown in its holistic exploration of innovative baking practices, its unique approach regarding preservation through prebaking/freezing/storage, and its meticulous examination of nutritional and technofunctional attributes of an optimal formulation with innovative ingredients. This work studies the behaviour of easily made, multiseed bread made with quinoa, chia and amaranth flours to prepare and eat by applying a prebaking/freezing/storage process. The results were compared to the control product made only with wheat flour, which was processed under the same conditions. The technofunctional and nutritional properties (mineral bioavailability, amino acids content and fatty acids profile), and the prebaking-freezing effect on them, were investigated. Essential amino acids (EAAs; i.e., lysine, valine, leucine) were not lost during the frozen storage process, and respectively exceeded the control product by 50%, 10% and 5%. The difference in colour (ΔE*) between the control and the multiseed products was below 5 after baking/storage, which indicates that a colour change could not be perceived by consumers. After freezes storage, amylopectin retrogradation enthalpy was up to 33% lower than in the control sample, possibly due to the action of polyunsaturated fatty acids and the soluble fibre content present in the multiseed product. This bread formulation could meet adults' nutritional requirements regarding calcium and diet fibre with a daily intake of 100 g.