Quality assessment of nutri-cereal bran rich fraction enriched buns and muffins

Millet bran, a by-product obtained during millet processing is rich in nutrients, fiber, antioxidants and phyto-nutrients, but remains underutilized. Consumption of bakery products have increased significantly among all age groups. Majority of the bakery products are calorie dense and lack nutrients. There are limited studies on utilization of minor millet brans and bran rich fractions (BRF) in development of bakery products. Thus, present study aimed at formulating designer buns and muffins using foxtail and kodo millet BRF respectively. It was observed that buns prepared with 20% foxtail and muffins prepared with 30% kodo BRF showed better acceptability. The nutritional profile of BRF enriched buns and muffins had significant increase in dietary fibre (2.73% and 2.79%), iron, calcium, zinc, antioxidant capacity and phytonutrient content. A reduction was observed in the available carbohydrates in both buns (51.11-47.85 g/100 g) and muffins (46.76-43.87 g/100 g). Buns and muffin exhibited moderate glycemic index (57.71, 56.42) and glycemic load (19.32, 14.85) respectively. Shelf life of buns and muffins was 3 and 7 days respectively at room temperature. In both the products moisture, water activity and microbial plate count increased during storage whereas sensory acceptability decreased. The study indicates that addition of minor millet BRF in baked products enhanced nutritional content and reduced glycemic index thereby exhibiting its potential as a functional ingredient in food processing.