Textural and sensorial characteristics of bambara groundnut shortcrust and puff pastry.

Abstract

Gluten-intolerant patients and coeliac sufferers have increased over time and given rise to alternative gluten-free flour sources. This study investigated the effect of Bambara groundnut flour on the textural and sensorial properties of shortcrust and puff pastry products. Bambara groundnut flour was proposed to provide an alternative to the gluten-free market. It had a mix which incorporated carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and modified starch as gluten substitutes. The CMC and modified starch proved to be a good combination of additives to use for producing gluten-free pastry pies and CMC had a more significant effect on the optimal flour. The optimal BGN flour mix was determined to be 1% CMC and 5% modified starch. The optimal BGN flour mix can be used to make gluten-free pastry products, and the use of whole and dehulled BGN flour was able to provide a pliable dough for producing gluten-free pastries and it imparted distinct colour characteristics to the pastry products. Shortcrust (rather than 70 or 80% fat content) and 100% fat content for puff pastry (80 or 120% fat content) products were analysed for textural properties, revealing that 60% fat content for shortcrust and 100% fat content for puff pastry resulted in favourable characteristics such as firmness and structural integrity. Quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) and consumer sensory evaluation were done to evaluate the whole BGN, dehulled BGN and wheat shortcrust and puff pastry pies. Whole BGN pastry products had unique characteristics, including larger crack size (shortcrust: 26.27 and puff pastry: 10.31), rough texture (shortcrust: 10.35 and puff pastry: 7.63), and a stronger beany taste (shortcrust: 10.03 and puff pastry: 9.26)and nutty aroma. Consumer sensory evaluation was done on appearance, crust colour, crumb colour, aroma, texture, and overall acceptability. Consumer sentiment was more positive towards wheat-based pies and had a more negative and neutral sentiment towards whole and dehulled BGN. The proximate analysis demonstrated the nutritional richness of whole and dehulled BGN pastry products. It highlighted their high protein (13.45-18.27%), mineral (1.97-2.73%), and fat content (8.62-12.68%), which may be beneficial to gluten-intolerant individuals, coeliac sufferers and health-conscious consumers. X-ray tomography revealed insights into the internal structure of pastry products, with factors like hole dimensions and roundness influencing the texture. The use of BGN flour, both whole and dehulled, contributed to distinct colour characteristics such as browning or darkening of the crumb and crust of the pastry products, diverging from those of wheat flour, with variations in L* (34.42-79.80), a* (1.67-14.78 ), and b* (12.18-31.88) values. The Lightness of the crust and crumb of whole BGN shows that it is much darker than wheat pastry products.