Effect of surfactant and fat on chapati making quality and control of its staling

Chapati is an unleavened flat baked product and it is prepared using whole wheat flour. One of the problems with chapatis is that they stale rapidly during storage and therefore, they have to be consumed immediately after their preparation. With changing socio-economic conditions and lifestyles, there is an increasing demand for ready to eat chapatis. In the present study, to control staling, chapatis were prepared using whole wheat flours of four different varieties by incorporating additives such as surfactant and fat. The chapatis stored at room temperature for 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h were evaluated for their quality parameters such as moisture content, chemical properties, sensory attributes, microstructure and amylograph characteristics. The moisture, soluble starch and soluble amylose contents in control chapatis decreased steadily with storage time and at the end of 96 h, the decrease in moisture, soluble starch and soluble amylose contents in chapatis prepared from different varieties were 3-8%, 80-82% and 78-85%, respectively. However, these changes were found to be at a very lesser rate in chapatis prepared from doughs treated with glycerol monostearate (GMS) and fat compared to that of control. Decrease in amylograph paste viscosity was more in control chapatis during storage compared to that of treated chapatis. Scanning electron microscopic studies of chapatis stored up to 96 h revealed that starch granules were uniform in both GMS and fat treated chapatis, when compared to control chapatis. Sensory studies showed that overall quality scores for chapatis prepared from GMS and fat treated doughs did not show any significant differences on storage. Thus, the results suggested that incorporation of surfactant and fat in dough not only improved the overall quality attributes of chapatis but also controlled their staling, during their storage.