Ancient Wheat and Quinoa Flours as Ingredients for Pasta Dough—Evaluation of Thermal and Rheological Properties

The aim of this study was to investigate thermal and rheological properties of selected ancient grain flours and to evaluate rheological properties of mixtures thereof represented by pasta dough and dry pasta. Flours from spelt, einkorn, and emmer ancient wheat varieties were combined with quinoa flour. All these flour sources are considered healthy grains of high bioactive component content. Research results were compared to durum wheat flour or spelt wheat flour systems. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and a rapid visco analyzer (RVA) were used to investigate the phase transition behavior of the flours and pasting characteristics of the flours and dried pasta. Angular frequency sweep experiments and creep and recovery tests of the pasta dough were performed. The main components modifying the pasta dough structure were starch and water. Moreover, the proportion of the individual flours influenced the rheological properties of the dough. The durum wheat dough was characterized by the lowest values of the K′ and K″ parameters of the power law models (24,861 Pa·sn′ and 10,687 Pa·sn″, respectively) and the highest values of the instantaneous (J0) and retardation (J1) compliances (0.453 × 10−4 Pa and 0.644 × 10−4 Pa, respectively). Replacing the spelt wheat flour with the other ancient wheat flours and quinoa flour increased the proportion of elastic properties and decreased values of the J0 and J1 of the pasta dough. Presence of the quinoa flour increased pasting temperature (from 81.4 up to 83.3 °C) and significantly influenced pasting viscosities of the spelt wheat pasta samples. This study indicates a potential for using mixtures of spelt, einkorn, and emmer wheat flours with quinoa flour in the production of innovative pasta dough and pasta products.

Effects of Milling and Baking Processes on Bread Quality: A Case in Kamise, Ethiopia

Milling and baking are processes which determine bread quality. Proximate compositions of wheat grains and flour samples from one central milling factory and bread samples from different bakeries in Kamise, Ethiopia were determined using standard methods in the laboratory. The fat and ash contents decreased by milling wheat grains; whereas, the moisture, protein and fat contents of the wheat flours increased in bread samples after baking. Highest amounts of Mg (243.25± 2.5 mg/Kg) and Ca (350.40 ± 2.2 mg/Kg) were found in the bread; while lowest concentrations of Mg (81.25 ± 0.15 mg/Kg) and a higher Ca concentrations (110.75 ± 0.2mg/Kg) were observed in flour samples. Significantly highest amount iron was obtained in the grains than in the flour and bread samples; indicating loss of iron in milling and baking processes. Lead was found on bread samples than in the grain or flour samples, indicative of the presence of contamination during baking processes. The variations between samples due to milling and differences in baking processes which could be as a result of differences in water used, additives and fermentation parameters. The evaluation of milling and baking processes in affecting nutrient composition are important to control the nutritional quality of bread.

Pilot Study: Does Contamination with Enniatin B and Beauvericin Affect the Antioxidant Capacity of Cereals Commonly Used in Animal Feeding?

Increasing consumption of cereals has been associated with reduced risk of several chronic diseases, as they contain phytochemicals that combat oxidative stress. Cereal contamination by the “emerging mycotoxins” beauvericin (BEA) and enniatins (ENs) is a worldwide health problem that has not yet received adequate scientific attention. Their presence in feeds represents a risk for animals and a potential risk for humans because of their carry-over to animal-derived products. This preliminary study aimed to investigate if the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of corn, barley, and wheat flours could be influenced by contamination with increasing levels of BEA and ENN B. The highest TAC value was observed in barley compared with wheat and corn (p < 0.001) before and after contamination. No effect of mycotoxin or mycotoxin level was found, whereas cereal x mycotoxin exhibited a significant effect (p < 0.001), showing a lower TAC value in wheat contaminated by ENN B and in barley contaminated by BEA. In conclusion, barley is confirmed as a source of natural antioxidants with antiradical potentials. Additional studies with a larger sample size are necessary to confirm the obtained results, and investigations of the toxic effects of these emergent mycotoxins on animals and humans should be deepened.

Commercial Organic Versus Conventional Whole Rye and Wheat Flours for Making Sourdough Bread: Safety, Nutritional, and Sensory Implications

Organic farming is gaining a broad recognition as sustainable system, and consumer demand for organic products has increased dramatically in the recent past. Whether organic agriculture delivers overall advantages over conventional agriculture is, however, contentious. Here, the safety, nutritional, and sensory implications of using commercial organic rye, soft, and durum wheat flours rather than conventional-made sourdough bread have been investigated. Culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches were used to explore the microbial architecture of flours and to study their dynamics during sourdough propagation. Besides biochemical features, the main nutritional (amino acid content, asparagine level, and antioxidant activity) characteristics of sourdoughs were investigated, and their effect on the structural, nutritional, and sensory profiles of breads assessed. Overall, the organic farming system led to flours characterized by lower content of asparagine and cell density of Enterobacteriaceae while showing higher concentration of total free amino acids. Differences of the flours mirrored those of sourdoughs and breads. The use of sourdough fermentation guaranteed a further improvement of the flour characteristics; however, a microbial and sensory profile simplification as well as a slight decrease of the biochemical parameters was observed between breads with sourdough after one-cycle fermentation and 10 days of propagation.

Preliminary Investigations on the Use of a New Milling Technology for Obtaining Wholemeal Flours

Wholemeal flours from various cereals and pseudocereals are a valuable source of nutritionally important fiber components, especially beta-glucans and arabinoxylans, as well as bioactive substances accompanying dietary fiber. Most types of whole-wheat flours have unfavorable baking and sensory properties. The finest granulation of bran particles in the flour has a significant effect on reducing or eliminating these deficiencies. Special disintegration equipment is required to achieve fine granulation of the bran particles. In this study, we have tested a special type of impact mill (originally intended for grinding of plastics) to produce special finely ground wholemeal flours with lower starch damage and higher farinographic absorption. Moisture content in the studied flours was significantly lower (7.4–9.8%) than is common in standard flour (13–14%). According to the results of flour analyses obtained from several cereal sources, it seems that especially in rye and wheat, this technology is suitable for both achieving fine granulation of bran particles and in terms of not very substantial damage of starch granules.

Study of physicochemical, functional, particle size and fermentation properties of flours composed of wheat and young shoots of palmyra palm in the perspective of the preparation of compound bread

This study on wheat flour type 55, the flour of young shoots of Palmyra palm (Borassus aethiopum Mart.), the mixture of the two (2) flours containing 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% of flour of young shoots of the palmyra palm, is an enhancement of the young shoots of the palmyra palm, a tuber little transformed in Côte d'Ivoire. The study on the physicochemical properties of the different flours revealed that the incorporation of the flour of young shoots of palmyra palm in the compound flours increased the content of reducing sugars, total sugars and especially fibers, which is beneficial for the health of populations ; the lipid and ash contents of wheat flour and of compound flour are not significantly different at the 5% threshold; the bulk density contents of all the flours are not significantly different at the 5% threshold with a general average of 0.65g / ml. The study of the functional properties revealed that the percentage solubility and the water absorption capacity of wheat flours and compound flours are not significantly different at the 5% level; that the swelling power of all the flours is not significantly different at the 5% level with a general average of 0.057 g/g. This study also consisted in evaluating the fermentation activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during the fermentation at 30 °C of baking dough containing 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25% of flour of young shoots of palmyra palm. When the incorporation rate is equal to 5%, we observe an increase in the fermentation activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a significant volume increase in the fermentation paste. However, when the flour content of young shoots is greater than 5%, a gradual decrease in the fermentation activity of the yeast is observed. The granulometric study revealed that the flour of young shoots of palmyra palm is the finest with a grain content of less than 63µm diameter higher.