Maria Cristina Messia

The aim of this research was to optimize the production process of fermented gluten-free quinoa bread. To this end, the effect of different hydrocolloids on the technological, fermentative, and nutritional properties of quinoa-based gluten-free doughs and breads was evaluated. For this purpose, 3% of four different hydrocolloids (sodium alginate, k-carrageenan, xanthan gum, and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)) were used in gluten-free doughs composed of 50% quinoa flour, 20% rice flour, and 30% potato starch. The rheological and fermentative properties of the doughs were evaluated, as well as the chemical composition, specific volume, crust and crumb color, and alveolar structure profile of gluten-free breads. The results highlighted the differences in dough rheology during mixing and fermentation of the doughs. In particular, HPMC showed a good gas retention (93%) during the fermentation of quinoa dough by registering the highest maximum dough development height (Hm). The gluten-free quinoa breads obtained were characterized by significantly different quality parameters (p < 0.05). The use of 3% HPMC resulted in breads with the lowest baking loss, the highest volume, and the most open crumb structure.

At present, whole grains are usually obtained by adding bran and middlings to refined flours, and this recombination leads to certain variations in the ratio of endosperm, bran and germ, resulting in flours with very different compositional characteristics and rheological properties. Therefore, this study focuses on the identification of specific lipid markers in different debranning fractions of Italian and Canadian durum wheat blends. The by-products obtained from five different debranning levels (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15%) had a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids and a higher concentration of tocopherols and sterols than the corresponding debranned grains. The Italian and Canadian durum wheat samples did not show significant differences in the content of these bioactive lipid compounds. In particular, palmitic acid, oleic acid, tocopherol isomers and total sterols could be useful biomarkers for evaluating the grain-to-tissue ratio in recombined flours.