[Inactivated pea flour (Pisum sativum) in bread making]

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Plant-based proteins
• Nutritional Chemistry

Context:

• Pea flour (Pisum sativum) is an underutilized, cost-effective protein source with potential to enhance the amino acid profile of staple foods.
• Bread production often lacks sufficient lysine, an essential amino acid.
• Enzymatic inactivation methods are crucial for processing plant-based ingredients.

Purpose:

• To investigate the impact of enzymatic inactivation of pea flour on bread characteristics.
• To determine optimal processing parameters for pea flour inclusion in bread.
• To assess the nutritional and sensory implications of substituting wheat flour with pea flour.

Summary:

• Bread was made with 5%, 10%, and 15% pea flour, with enzymatic inactivation treatments of 1 and 1.5 minutes.
• Residual lipoxygenase activity was significantly reduced with longer heat treatment (2.1% at 1.5 min vs. 48.6% at 1 min).
• Highest specific bread volume was observed with 1-minute treatment, while 5% pea flour inclusion was sensorially acceptable for both treatments.

Impact:

• Pea flour can be successfully incorporated into bread at a 5% level, improving its nutritional profile.
• Higher levels (10-15%) of pea flour negatively affected bread's specific volume and sensory attributes.
• Enzymatic inactivation is key to managing pea flour's impact on bread quality, with 1.5 minutes being most effective for enzyme deactivation.