Gluten-free bread formulated with Prosopis ruscifolia (vinal) seed and corn flours

Vinal (Prosopis ruscifolia) is a wild leguminous tree found widely in the north of Argentina. Like other Prosopis, vinal can grow under extreme temperatures, in poor soils and can tolerate high saline conditions. Taking into account the high protein and gums contents of vinal seeds, a gluten-free bread was developed including them and corn flour. A central composite design involving vinal seed flour/corn starch ratio (X1) and corn flour/corn starch ratio (X2) was used, and second-order models for specific volume (Y1) and bread score (Y2), evaluated by an expert panel, were employed to generate response surfaces. In the optimum zone of response surfaces, a product with higher protein content (5.2 g/100 g) than gluten-free breads found in local commercial markets was obtained. Also, an interesting antioxidant activity (115 mg ascorbic acid equivalent/100 g) was found in optimized gluten-free bread.