Formulation, Overall Acceptability, Nutritive Value Assessment of Gluten-free, Vegan Bread and Comparison with Contemporary Gluten-free Bread

Gluten-free and vegan bakery items have been gaining popularity. Their demand has increased over the past few years, with India being one of the largest gluten-free food consumers. The gluten-free pieces of bread available in the market are crumbly in nature and have a dry mouthfeel, reducing its overall acceptability among consumers. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to develop gluten-free and vegan bread and enrich it with a functional component such as flaxseeds and assess its overall acceptability and nutritional value compared to gluten-free bread available in the market. Once the product was standardized for its serving size and yield, various sensory evaluation trials were conducted using 9 points hedonic scale on bread attributes with the help of semi-trained(n=30)and trained panellists(n=3). Proximate analysis of macronutrients was conducted along with the microbial analysis. The proximate analysis showed that the experimental product had a higher protein content(18.26g)and a lower fat content (5.58g) as compared to the market-bought control sample of gluten-free bread (Total protein content was 3.44g and total fat content was 9.20g). The experimental bread microbial analysis indicated that the total plate count, yeast and mold count, and coli form count were in the acceptable range. Salmonella and E.coli were absent in the sample Statistical analysis using paired t-test was performed found a significant difference between the experimental and control group among the following characteristics: taste/flavour, texture/mouth feel, and overall acceptability (p≤0.05). A shelf-life study of the bread was conducted, and it was seen that the bread remained sensorial acceptable for three days at a refrigerated temperature and four days at room temperature. The bread had a higher nutritional profile than the control sample and received higher overall acceptability.