Keum-Il Jang

We analyzed the quality characteristics of wheat-free, gluten-free dough, steam-treated dough, and cooked noodles. Dough was prepared from soaked-and-dried soybean (SDS) powder amended with 10%, 25%, or 40% psyllium husk; the SDS was prepared by soaking soybeans for 12 h at room temperature and hot air drying at 60°C for 24 h. Dough was then steam-treated at 120°C for 5, 10, or 15 min and subsequently formed into noodles. Dough and noodle can be made using SDS powder and psyllium husk powder, but it is difficult to maintain noodle shape after cooking without steam treatment. Steam treatment improved the texture of the dough, enabling noodle production. The hardness, gumminess, springiness, cohesiveness, and chewiness of the steam-treated dough were improved compared to nonsteamed dough, yielding a texture similar to wheat flour dough. Moreover, the dough cross-section became denser after steam treatment. As the cooking time increased, the hardness, gumminess, cohesiveness, and chewiness of cooked noodles decreased, and the springiness of cooked noodles increased by increasing of water absorption rate; overall, their form was maintained. Therefore, steam-treated psyllium husk-containing dough enables noodle production without the addition of gluten.