Optimization of durum wheat bread from a selenium-rich cultivar fortified with bran

In this work the effect of bran addition (5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 %, 25 %, 30 %) on sensory, nutritional and mechanical properties of bread made from a durum wheat semolina enriched with selenium (cultivar PR22D89) was addressed; traditional and whole-meal bread from the same cultivar PR22D89, without any further bran addition, were also investigated for comparative purpose. In order to improve the durum wheat functional bread, different structuring agents (agar agar, gellan gum, guar seed flour, hydroxy-propyl-cellulose, modified food starch-CAPSUL® and tapioca starch) were firstly screened and then optimized. Sensory, textural and nutritional properties of bread were studied in each step. Results showed that bread from PR22D89 cultivar with addition of bran up to 30 % was completely accepted from the textural, nutritional and sensory points of view with proper utilization of guar seed flour or modified food-starch (2 %).