Preparation and characterization of churro dough with malt bagasse flour

Abstract

Malt bagasse is an interesting by-product from the beer industry that can be used to develop flour for bakery products such as churros. This work aimed to develop a formulation of churro dough by partially replacing wheat flour with malt bagasse flour, and to evaluate its microbiological, physicochemical, and sensory properties. Malt bagasse was prepared at 60 °C during 7 h, and then, four churro dough formulations were elaborated: one without malt bagasse flour (F1) and three others with different concentration of flour malt bagasse, 10% (F2), 20% (F3), and 30% (F4). The malt bagasse flour showed good microbiological conditions and physicochemical characteristics suitable to be used in the preparation of churros. Regarding the churro dough, it was found that all formulations presented microbiological results within the standard established by legislation. The physicochemical parameters were similar to those of the control formulation; they showed an increase in water activity and a decrease in pH proportionate to the increase in the malt bagasse flour content. In the sensory analysis, the formulations did not differ from each other for the evaluated attributes, and they achieved an acceptability index higher than 70%. Thus, the churro dough with a partial replacement of wheat flour with malt bagasse flour has potential as a new product to be explored by the food industry.