Wheat bread enriched with organic calcium salts and inulin. A bread quality study

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Bakery Science

Background:

• Wheat bread fortification with calcium and prebiotics like inulin can enhance nutritional value.
• Optimizing the formulation is crucial to maintain desirable bread quality parameters.
• Calcium citrate and calcium lactate are common calcium sources with differing properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of calcium citrate (Ca3CI2) or calcium lactate (CaLA2) and inulin (In) on wheat bread quality.
• To optimize the formulation of calcium- and inulin-enriched wheat bread.
• To analyze key bread parameters including fermentation time, specific volume, crust browning, and crumb characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Wheat bread formulations were enriched with varying levels of Ca3CI2 or CaLA2 and inulin.
• Quality parameters studied included fermentation time (tf), specific volume (Vs), browning index (BI), moisture, alveolus structure, and texture.
• A desirability function was employed to optimize bread formulation.

Main Results:

• Increased inulin generally decreased fermentation time and specific volume.
• Ca3CI2 did not significantly alter specific volume at equivalent inulin levels, unlike CaLA2 which resulted in smaller breads.
• Crumb moisture decreased with Ca3CI2 addition (≤ 6.5% In), while CaLA2 showed greater influence.
• Both calcium salts reduced crumb firmness and increased cohesiveness up to 6.5% inulin.
• Optimal formulations were determined: 2.40 g/kg Ca and 7.49% In for Ca3CI2; 1.33 g/kg Ca and 4.68% In for CaLA2.

Conclusions:

• Wheat bread enriched with calcium and inulin can be successfully formulated to achieve high quality.
• Calcium citrate allows for higher fortification levels of both calcium and inulin compared to calcium lactate.
• The choice of calcium salt (citrate vs. lactate) significantly influences bread quality parameters and optimal fortification levels.