Baked Muffins Research Articles

Development a new vegan muffin formulation and evaluation their some quality and sensory characteristics

This study aimed to develop a healthy, vegan muffin that is gluten-free and lactose-free, while maintaining sensory appeal. Black chickpea flour, aquafaba, and almond milk were incorporated into the recipe to achieve this. Various substitutions were tested, including 11.1% (M-1), 16.7% (M-2), and 22.2% (w:w) (M-3) chickpea flour replacements, along with 19.4% almond milk and 11.1% aquafaba, compared to control muffins (M-0) containing wheat flour, cow milk, and chicken egg. Results showed pH values ranging from 6.45 to 6.95 for batter and 6.76 to 7.10 for baked muffins, with dry matter content between 63.71% and 65.54%, and baking loss between 9.76% and 11.81%. Calorie values were highest in M-0 (330.69 kcal/100 g), reduced to 272.83-269.72 kcal/100 g with chickpea flour, aquafaba, and almond milk. Muffin height and volume decreased insignificantly in M-1, M-2, and M-3 compared to reference muffins (p>0.05). The uniformity index, volume, symmetry index, and volume index significantly decreased with chickpea flour addition (p0.05). Overall, this demonstrates the potential to create sensorially pleasing vegan muffins by incorporating ingredients like black chickpea flour, aquafaba, and almond milk.

Effect of sugar beet fiber and different hydrocolloids on rheological properties and quality of gluten-free muffins.

Extraction of pectin from sugar beet pulp is a side production line to recover value-added by-products in a sugar refining company. We aimed to evaluate the influence of depectinized and non-treated fiber on the quality of food. Pectin was removed from sugar beet pulp, and sugar beet fiber with and without pectin extraction (F and FP respectively) were replaced with rice flour in gluten-free muffins. To achieve a consistent texture, different hydrocolloids (carrageenan, xanthan gum, guar gum, locust bean gum (LBG), and tara gum) were added to the batter formula. The maximum batter viscosity was observed for the xanthan-containing formulation, followed by guar, tara, LBG, and carrageenan formulations. The highest hardness was recorded for baked muffins formulated with guar, followed by xanthan, carrageenan, tara, and LBG formula. Moisture retention was considerably increased in the presence of FP and LBG compared with muffins prepared by F and/or other hydrocolloids. However, muffins containing F showed the least hardness and highest cohesiveness, gumminess, springiness, and chewiness. The samples containing F represented lighter color, lower energy, and less porous in appearance compared with the FP formula. From a sensorial aspect, there was no significant difference between the F and FP formulas, but the control and sample with higher fiber content were not acceptable. This study showed that depectinized sugar beet fiber a by-product of sugar factories, has the possible use in formulation of gluten-free muffins with no adverse effects on its quality. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Valoración de los efectos de la inclusión de tres edulcorantes y el reemplazo parcial de grasa, sobre las propiedades físicas, textura y sensoriales de un pan tipo muffin

The effect of a mixture of sweeteners (Palatinose™, Isomalt and Maltitol) and fat reduction (butter and vegetable oil) on the texture profile (volume, hardness, chewiness) and sensory characteristics of a muffin bread was evaluated. A control recipe (C) was modified to develop 5 formulations with sucrose replacement by a mixture of sweeteners and reduced fat (less margarine, no vegetable oil or added inulin). The specific gravity of the dough, as well as volume, specific volume, texture profile and sensory properties of the baked muffins were evaluated. The results were analyzed by ANOVA with 95 % confidence. The volume of the muffins was lower in the formulations with sugar substitute than in the control, except for the reduced-fat sample (P2), coinciding with mass analysis. The sweetener blend increased the chewiness of the muffins. The formulations with inulin (P3 and P5) presented greater hardness, chewiness and moisture content than the rest of the samples. The sensory perception was favorable for the samples made with a mixture of sweeteners, while the formulations with partial fat replacement obtained less aceptance by consumers. The inclusion of inulin affected the texture, sensory characteristics and aceptance of the product.

Influence of inulin–konjac suspension as a fat replacer in baked muffins and its impact on textural and oxidative stability upon storage

In this study, vegetable oil in the muffins’ formulation was substituted with inulin–konjac (IK) suspensions (in the ratio of 70:30) at 30, 45, 60, and 75% concentration. Muffins formulated with higher IK concentrations (IK60 and IK75) showed a lower increase in hardness after storage (51% and 48%). By the end of storage, lipid peroxidation was lower in all reduced-fat muffins, with up to a 49% reduction seen in the IK30 muffin. The addition of IK suspension greatly improved the nutritional profile of the reduced-fat muffins significantly and demonstrated efficacy in delaying lipid oxidation, and starch retrogradation during prolonged storage. These findings suggest that functional muffins with reduced fat and increased dietary fiber can be produced using IK suspensions. Although the use of inulin in baked goods is well documented, there are limited studies that explore the possible use of konjac glucomannan (KGM) in baked products. Novelty impact statement Vegetable oil was substituted with a combination of inulin and konjac glucomannan. An improvement in the overall nutritional profile for reduced-fat muffins. Reduced-fat muffins showed a delay in lipid oxidation and starch retrogradation.

Nutritious Dehulled Sunflower Meal Based Muffins: Optimization, Quality Characteristics And Storage Stability

The present study was conducted to optimize the food materials such as Dehulled Sunflower Meal (DSM) and Refined Wheat Flour (RWF) in flour blend for the preparation of muffins and to evaluate the storage stability of DSM incorporated muffins for 15 days storage at ambient as well as low temperature (4o C). Different experimental combinations were planned using response surface methodology (central composite design) of Design Expert software considering 10 to 40 g DSM and 60 to 90 g RWF. Different levels of RWF and DSM significantly influenced the instrumental colour (L, a, b values), nutritional quality, textural profile analysis and sensory acceptability of muffins. The nutritional and baking quality such as crude protein, total mineral content, iron and calcium, weight loss and height of baked muffins increased with increasing quantity of DSM. Optimized level of RWF and DSM consisted of 63.46 and 36.54%, respectively in flour blend showing overall desirability as 0.831. This muffin sample provided 11.72% crude protein, 2.24% total minerals, 143 mg/100g calcium and 4.55 mg/100 g iron with an overall acceptability score of 7.9 and can be stored for 9 days with good sensory acceptability.

Developing Baking-Stable Red Raspberries with Improved Mechanical Properties and Reduced Syneresis

This work identified new treatments to develop red raspberries for baking applications for better consumer appeal. Fresh or frozen fruits are often incorporated in baked products such as muffins and pies. These baked products are very popular due to their fresh, fruity flavor. Raspberries are used as an ingredient in many foods due to their delicious flavor. However, the incorporation of red frozen raspberries turns the baked product red due to syneresis during baking. In this study, we developed baking-stable red raspberries to minimize syneresis during baking. We applied three treatments to the red raspberries: vacuum impregnation with low methoxyl pectin and calcium chloride at 20 °C and a vacuum level of 50.8 kPa, for 7 min; partial dehydration using hot air at a dry bulb temperature of 65 °C until the final water content of 0.65 g H2O/g fruit was reached; and edible coatings at different concentrations. Treated berries were stored in a freezer at − 35 °C for 2 months. We determined the mechanical properties, drip loss, and visual integrity of the frozen-thawed red raspberries before baking to select appropriate coatings. Raspberry muffins were then baked to 204 °C for 20 min. We determined the syneresis from the baked fruit using an image analyzer. Findings indicate that sodium alginate coating on red raspberries at 0.4% (w/v) resulted in minimal syneresis in baked muffins at 13.9%, while commercially frozen raspberries showed syneresis at 62.9%. The maximum force (FM) and gradient (GC) values as firmness indicators were improved from control berries (7.45 N and 2.06 N/mm, respectively) to treated berries (21.16 N and 7.06 N/mm, respectively).

Bos d 11 in baked milk poses a risk for adverse reactions in milk-allergic patients.

Patients are commonly challenged with foods containing baked milk, for example muffins, yet little is known about the specific allergen content of muffins used in milk challenges or of the effect that baking has on allergenicity. Our objective was to compare the levels of major milk allergens in uncooked and baked muffins using monoclonal immunoassays and IgE antibody binding before and after baking. Uncooked and baked muffins were prepared using recipes from Mount Sinai and Imperial College. Allergen levels were compared by ELISA for Bos d 5 (β-lactoglobulin) and Bos d 11 (β-casein). IgE reactivity was assessed using sera from milk-sensitized donors in direct binding and inhibition ELISA. Bos d 5 was reduced from 680µg/g in uncooked muffin mix to 0.17µg/g in baked muffins, representing a >99% decrease after baking. Conversely, Bos d 11 levels in baked muffin remained high and only decreased by 30% from a mean of 4249µg/g in uncooked muffin mix to 2961µg/g when baked (~181mg Bos d 11 per muffin). Baked muffins retained ~70% of the IgE binding to uncooked muffin mix. Baked muffin extract inhibited IgE binding to uncooked muffin mix by up to 80%, demonstrating retention of in vitro IgE reactivity. High levels of Bos d 11 in baked muffins pose a risk for adverse reactions, especially in patients who have high anti-casein IgE antibodies.

Multi-laboratory validation of the xMAP-Food Allergen Detection Assay: A multiplex, antibody-based assay for the simultaneous detection of food allergens.

The increasing prevalence of individuals with multiple food allergies and the need to distinguish between foods containing homologous, cross-reactive proteins have made the use of single-analyte antibody-based methods (e.g., ELISAs) sometimes insufficient. These issues have resulted in the need to conduct multiple analyses and sometimes employ orthogonal methods like mass spectrometry or DNA-based methods for confirmatory purposes. The xMAP Food Allergen Detection Assay (xMAP FADA) was developed to solve this problem while also providing increased throughput and a modular design suitable for adapting to changes in analytical needs. The use of built-in redundancy provides the xMAP FADA with built-in confirmatory analytical capability by including complementary antibody bead sets and secondary analytical end points (e.g., ratio analysis and multi-antibody profiling). A measure of a method’s utility is its performance when employed by analysts of varying expertise in multiple laboratory environments. To gauge this aspect, a multi-laboratory validation (MLV) was conducted with 11 participants of different levels of proficiency. The MLV entailed the analysis of incurred food samples in four problematic food matrices, meat sausage, orange juice, baked muffins, and dark chocolate. Except for a couple of instances, involving two confirmatory components in the analysis of baked muffins, the allergenic foods were detected by all participants at concentrations in the analytical samples comparable to ≤ 10 μg/g in the original food sample. In addition, despite high levels of inter-lab variance in the absolute intensities of the responses, the intra-laboratory reproducibility was sufficient to support analyses based on the calibration standards and direct comparison controls (DCCs) analyzed alongside the samples. In contrast, ratio analyses displayed inter-laboratory %CV (RSDR) values < 20%; presumably because the ratios are based on inherent properties of the antigenic elements. The excellent performance of the xMAP FADA when performed by analysts of varying proficiency indicates a reliability sufficient to meet analytical needs.

Extension of xMAP Food Allergen Detection Assay to Include Sesame

An estimated 0.1 to 0.2% of the North American population is allergic to sesame, and deaths due to anaphylactic shock have been reported. Detecting and quantifying sesame in various food samples is critical to safeguard the allergic population by ensuring accurate ingredient labeling. Because of the modular nature of the xMAP Food Allergen Detection Assay (FADA), it was possible through method extension to add sesame as a validated additional analyte. Because raw and toasted sesame are both commonly used and the two display significantly different antigenicity, three antibodies, one monoclonal and two polyclonal, were conjugated to bead sets to ensure reliable detection. The modified xMAP FADA successfully detected sesame incurred or spiked in baked muffins, spice mix, canola oil, and in both raw and toasted sesame oils with limit of quantitation values ≤ 1.3 ppm of sesame. Canola oil, sesame oil, toasted sesame oil, and olive oil inhibited sesame detection, as did the detection of sesame incurred in foods containing oil (e.g., hummus). Despite this inhibition, the xMAP FADA was still able to reliably detect sesame at levels throughout the dynamic range of the assay (22 to 750 ng of protein per mL) in all the foods examined. Further, the high signal-to-noise ratio of the lowest calibration standard and preliminary studies conjugating the antibodies at higher concentrations indicate an ability to increase the sensitivity of the assay should the need arise.

Muffins enriched with dietary fiber from kimchi by-product: Baking properties, physical-chemical properties, and consumer acceptance.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary fiber from Chinese cabbage outer‐leaf powder, which is a main by‐product of kimchi, on the quality, texture properties, and sensory evaluation of muffins. The kimchi by‐product powder (KBP, 36.2% dietary fiber) was added at 1%–4% dietary fiber content, by replacing wheat flour (w/w basis). The physico‐chemical and sensory properties of the baked muffins were measured. The height and volume of the muffins decreased with the addition of KBP. Increasing the KBP content resulted in increased hardness and reduced chewiness. No significant difference was observed in the overall acceptance among the muffins, up to the 2% added dietary fiber group, and the positive effect of the incorporated KBP was also confirmed in the sensory evaluation. These results indicate that it is possible to produce functional muffins with increased dietary fiber content by adding KBP in place of flour.

Single-Laboratory Validation of the Multiplex xMAP Food Allergen Detection Assay with Incurred Food Samples.

An xMAP Food Allergen Detection Assay (xMAP FADA) was developed to meet analytical needs when responding to complaints by individuals with multiple food allergies and to address potential ambiguities associated with cross-reactive proteins. A single-laboratory validation (SLV) was conducted to examine the reliability of the xMAP FADA to detect 15 analytes individually or as part of a mixture at more than six concentrations in four foods. The xMAP FADA reliably detected the analytes despite the incurred dark chocolate and incurred baked muffins displaying recoveries of 10-20% and <60%, respectively. The high reliability for recoveries less than 60% in part reflects the statistical strength of the design of the xMAP FADA. Only crustacean, egg, and milk incurred in dark chocolate were not reliably detected using the PBST-buffered-detergent protocol. Following the reduced-denatured protocol, no problems were encountered in the detection of milk, although egg did not display a dynamic response in dark chocolate. The ruggedness of the xMAP FADA was ascertained by the ability of novice analysts to detect food allergens in baked rice cookies. Despite one analyst losing >80% of the beads and the count for one bead set dropping to seven, the assay displayed only a decrease in precision (increased standard deviations) and a change in the ratios between complementary antibody pairs.

Gluten-free baked muffins developed with Prosopis alba flour

Baked flour products are basic in people's diet; the problem arises when celiac people tend to follow this kind of diet. In this work we exploit the benefit of American carob, Prosopis alba flour (PAF) in developing gluten-free muffins jointly with corn flour (CF) and rice flour (RF). All muffins obtained presented very good physical and sensory characteristics. The muffin with the highest amount of PAF presented low chewiness and was the most adhesive. Crumb structure of muffins with PAF presented alveoli of more irregular form although they occupied a greater proportion of area, leading to softer crumbs. Sample with high content of PAF presented the greatest score for sensory overall acceptability and the lowest for chewiness; also the intensive brown color was also well accepted by consumers. Nutritional analysis of the muffins indicate that those products with the highest content of PAF (66.6%) presented higher amount of proteins, ash and dietary fiber and lower of lipids. Also, these muffins presented a high amount of polyphenols and the highest antioxidant activity. Sensory and nutritional analysis showed that PAF contributed in a positive form to muffin's quality, suggesting that this flour would be a suitable ingredient as mimetic of chocolate-based breads.

Enhancing wheat muffin aroma through addition of germinated and fermented Australian sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) flour

Australian sweet lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) are excellent plant protein sources, however undesirable legume flavor can be a barrier to greater consumption. The impact of germination and fermentation on the concentration of free amino acids and free fatty acids in lupin and soybean flour and on the aroma profiles of baked muffins containing germinated and fermented lupin and soybean flour (40% w/w) were evaluated by gas chromatography mass-spectrometry and olfactometry. Muffins incorporating germinated lupin and soybean flours had a higher concentration of selected free amino acids and most volatiles, followed by muffins enriched with fermented lupin and soybean, compared to wheat muffins. Based on olfactometry and semi-quantitative volatile data, muffins baked with the addition of germinated and fermented lupin and soybean flour were characterized by a higher concentration of odor-active volatiles and more intense aroma.

Utilization of foam structured hydroxypropyl methylcellulose for oleogels and their application as a solid fat replacer in muffins

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) was utilized to structure sunflower oil into solid-like oleogels by generating foaming-templates and the feasibility of HPMC oleogels as a shortening replacer in muffins was evaluated in terms of physical, rheological, and tomographical properties. Sunflower oil was successfully converted into a solid form with the assistance of foam-structured HPMC. The resultant oleogels and their blends with shortening rheologically behaved as elastic gels. The replacement of shortening with HPMC oleogels produced muffin batters with lower viscosity and less shear-thinning behavior. The viscoelastic measurements also showed greater contribution of HPMC oleogels to the viscous nature of muffin batters. While the specific gravity of batter had a tendency to increase with increasing replacement levels of shortening, the specific volume of baked muffins was not significantly reduced at shortening replacement levels of up to 50%. Furthermore, the X-ray micro-computed tomographic analysis demonstrated that air cells were much larger in size and inhomogeneously distributed in the muffins prepared with HPMC-oleogels. The shortening replacement with HPMC oleogels at up to 50% by weight did not negatively contribute to the soft and chewy texture of the muffins. These results demonstrated that HPMC oleogels could be effective in replacing shortening at up to 50% without significant deterioration in the quality attributes of muffins.

Rheometric Non-Isothermal Gelatinization Kinetics of Chickpea Flour-Based Gluten-Free Muffin Batters with Added Biopolymers.

An attempt was made to analyze the elastic modulus (G′) of chickpea flour (CF)-based muffin batters made with CF alone and with added biopolymers (whey protein (WP), xanthan gum (XG), inulin (INL), and their blends) in order to evaluate their suitability to be a wheat flour (WF) substitute in muffins, and to model the heat-induced gelatinization of batters under non-isothermal heating condition from 25 °C to 90 °C. A rheological approach is proposed to determine the kinetic parameters (reaction order (n), frequency factor (k0), and activation energy (Ea)) using linearly-increasing temperature. Zero-order reaction kinetics adequately described batter gelatinization process, therefore assuming a constant rate independent of the initial G′ value. The change of the derivative of G′ with respect to time (dG′/dt) versus temperature is described by one exponential function with activation energies ranging from 118 to 180 kJ·mol−1. Control wheat gluten batter, with higher and lower starch and protein contents, respectively, than CF-based batters, exhibited the highest Ea value. Formulation of CF-based gluten-free batters with starch and protein contents closer to the levels of WF-based batter could be a strategy to decrease differences in kinetic parameters of muffin batters and, therefore, in technological characteristics of baked muffins.

Rheological and textural properties in a bakery product as a function of the proportions of the egg yolk fractions: Discussion and modelling

With the aim of widening our knowledge about the structural changes induced by the components of egg yolk granules and their relevance in baked goods, rheological and other physical parameters have been studied in a real food system and correlated with the proportion of plasma/granules added in each case.For this purpose, the whole egg yolk content was progressively substituted by its high protein-content granular fraction in a muffin recipe until a 100% granular recipe was obtained. Five different formulas, corresponding to different plasma/granules ratios, were used and another formula with 100% granules and containing mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids (E471) was tested too.Flow curves at 25 °C and mechanical spectra at 90 °C were obtained for each substitution in order to evaluate the effect of the granules on the structure of the batter. In addition, other physical parameters of the baked muffins, such as hardness, were determined. The effects of the granular fraction on the aeration of the batter and on the baked muffins were also assessed by means of image analysis.The progressive addition of granular proteins resulted in a non-linear increase in the consistency coefficient, the strength of the interactions and the hardness of the baked muffins, particularly from a plasma/granules ratio lower than 0.75. The addition of emulsifiers reverted the effects observed. These results suggest that the desirable effects of the egg yolk on the textural properties and shape of the muffin are due mainly to the effect of the plasma fraction.

Cellulose ether emulsions as fat replacers in muffins: Rheological, thermal and textural properties

Sunflower oil, butter and two types of sunflower oil cellulose ether emulsions were used as fat sources in a muffin formulation. The advantage of employing these emulsions is that the final fat content in the muffin formulation is reduced to 49%. The viscoelastic and the calorimetric properties associated with the starch gelatinization of the muffin batter were investigated. In the baked muffins, height, crumb bubble size and instrumental texture were analysed.The butter batter's viscoelastic properties differed the most from the other batters. Although the butter batter exhibited the highest elastic predominance at room temperature, it was observed to decrease during heating. In the oil and the cellulose emulsion batters, on the other hand, an increase in elasticity was observed during heating. The cellulose emulsions induce a highly significant decrease in the starch gelatinization temperature, in comparison with both the oil and butter batters. The oil muffins are the highest and their texture is the most highly aerated. Both the height and crumb bubble size of the cellulose emulsion muffins were found to lie between those of the oil and the butter muffins. Sensory acceptability of the emulsion muffins was slightly lower, which could be associated with their harder texture.

Effects of Wheat Grass Powder Incorporation on Physiochemical Properties of Muffins

Wheat grass powder contains various antioxidant compounds and has excellent antioxidant activity. Wheat grass powder was added at 0, 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5% levels by replacing wheat flour to make muffins namely control, WG2.5, WG5.0, and WG7.5. The viscosity in the muffin batter, hardness, chewiness, protein, total dietary fiber, ash, and total phenolic content of baked muffins increased with increasing wheat grass powder levels. The volume, cohesiveness, springiness, and color (L, a, b values) of samples showed a reverse trend. Sensory testing of WG7.5 showed lower acceptability while WG5.0 had the maximum score (8.4) as compared to other levels.

Physical, Textural and Sensory Characteristics of Gluten Free Muffins Prepared with Teff Flour (Eragrostistef (ZUCC) Trotter)

Since the enrichment of gluten-free cereal products is not mandatory there is a need for improving nutritional content of glutenfree diets by incorporating alternative gluten-free grains that are naturally abundant in nutrients. This study examined the effects of substitution of rice flour (control) with teff flour at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% on the physical, textural, and sensory characteristics of gluten free muffins. A decrease in height of baked muffins was observed with an increase in the percentage of teff flour. Muffins with 75% and 100% teff flour had very viscous batters with significantly lower line spread tests compared to control rice muffins. Specific gravity was not significantly different between teff muffins, but all teff variations were significantly lower than the control. Textural measurements made using TA.XT Plus Texture Analyzer (Texture Technologies Corp., Scarsdale, NY) showed no significant difference between the control, 25% and 50% teff muffins but the 75% and 100% teff muffins were significantly harder. Springiness was significantly lower when the teff muffins were compared to the control, but no differences were found between teff variations. Substitutions up to 50% with teff flour were acceptable to the panelists. Friedman’s rank test showed no significant difference in the overall liking between control, 25% and 50% teff muffins. This study demonstrates that substituting 50% rice flour with teff not only produces acceptable gluten free muffins, but these are more nutritious because of their higher protein (27%), iron (2095%), calcium (25%) and fiber (221%) contents.

Rheological, textural and sensorial properties of low-sucrose muffins reformulated with sucralose/polydextrose

A study was made of the structure, texture, appearance, colour and consumer sensory analysis of low-sucrose muffins in which the sucrose had been totally or partially replaced (25%, 50%, 75%) by a sucralose:polydextrose mixture (1:1012). The structural characteristics of the muffin batters and of the baked muffins were studied through rheometry, microscopy, image analysis and texture analysis. The replacement of sucrose decreased the viscosity, viscoelasticiy and specific gravity of the raw muffin batter. The evolution of the batter’s viscoelastic properties during heating reveals a decrease in the thermosetting temperature with sucrose replacement. These changes in the batter were associated with a muffin with less height, hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness and resilience and fewer air cells than the control. For 50% sucrose replacement, the appearance, colour, texture, flavour and sweetness and general acceptability were similar to those of the control. Significantly less acceptable muffins were obtained with 100% sucrose replacement.