Effect of the Leavening Agent on the Compositional and Sensorial Characteristics of Bread Fortified with Flaxseed Cake

• Main Authors: Isabella Taglieri, Chiara Sanmartin, Francesca Venturi, Monica Macaluso, Angela Zinnai, Silvia Tavarini, Andrea Serra, Giuseppe Conte, Guido Flamini, Luciana G. Angelini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: sourdough; baker’s yeast; bread; flaxseed; fortification; by-products
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/15/5235

Health and well-being improvement is currently driving innovation in bread, using a wide variety of value-added compounds as extra ingredients, including food industry by-products in a circular economy concept. In this context, this research aimed at evaluating the effect of the fortification of bread with different percentages of flaxseed cake, comparing two leavening agents: sourdough and baker’s yeast. Sensorial, physicochemical, and nutritional properties, including pH, the main fermentative metabolites, fatty acids, total phenols, antioxidant capacity, and volatile organic compounds were determined for fortified bread. The results showed a significant improvement of nutraceutical profile of the bread fortified with flaxseed cake in a dose-dependent manner. Regardless of the leavening agent, the fortification determined a decrease of n-6:n-3 ratio, reaching the recommended value (<3) already at the 7.5% level. Furthermore, under the same fortification level, sourdough breads showed a higher level of total phenols and antiradical activity than baker’s yeast breads. Sensory profiles were instead deeply influenced by both the fortification percentage and the leavening agents. In conclusion, considering both nutritional and sensory results, the best formulation as a function of leavening agent utilized was defined as 5% and 7.5% when sourdough and baker’s yeast were used, respectively.