Breadstick fortification with red grape pomace: effect on nutritional, technological and sensory properties

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Nutritional Science
• Agricultural By-product Valorization

Background:

• Grape pomace (GP), a wine industry by-product, is rich in dietary fiber (DF) and total phenolic compounds (TPC).
• GP presents a potential functional ingredient for enhancing the nutritional profile of baked goods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of incorporating powdered grape pomace (GPP) into breadsticks.
• To evaluate the impact of GPP on dough rheology, breadstick technological properties, nutritional content, and sensory acceptability.

Main Methods:

• Breadsticks were fortified by replacing wheat flour with 0, 5, and 10 g/100g of powdered grape pomace (GPP).
• Analyses included rheological properties, textural characteristics, pH, volume, total phenolic compounds (TPC), antioxidant capacity, dietary fiber (DF) content, and sensory evaluation.

Main Results:

• GPP inclusion increased dough water absorption and tenacity while reducing extensibility, significantly altering rheological properties.
• Fortified breadsticks showed reduced hardness and fracturability, decreased pH, volume, and specific volume.
• TPC, antioxidant capacity, and DF content increased with GPP addition, enabling 'high fiber content' claims at 10 g/100g GPP.

Conclusions:

• Powdered grape pomace (GPP) significantly improved the nutritional value of breadsticks, increasing fiber and antioxidant content.
• GPP altered dough rheology and breadstick technological properties, including texture and volume.
• Despite changes in sensory attributes like bitterness and astringency, GPP-fortified breadsticks achieved good overall sensory acceptability.