Pre-Saturation of Bran as a Strategy for Developing Oat Bran-Enriched Bread

Oat bran offers notable health benefits, but excessive incorporation into bread often compromises quality and consumer acceptance due to its competition for water, particularly with gluten, impairing dough structure. The pre-hydration of fibrous ingredients could alleviate their negative impact on bread quality. This study aimed to determine the optimal pre-hydration level of oat bran to achieve maximal quality in bread enriched with pre-hydrated oat bran that replaced 20% white flour in a white bread formula. Oat bran was pre-hydrated to six water activity (a_w) levels, ranging from 0.9951 to 0.9989. The results revealed that oat bran hydrated near its saturation point (a_w = 0.9979) yielded the composite bread with the most desirable structural and textural properties, including the highest specific loaf volume, minimal crumb hardness, and superior springiness and cohesiveness-attributes comparable to those of the control white bread. Conversely, hydration levels either below or above this saturation threshold led to a decline in bread quality. Optimally saturated oat bran exhibited significantly reduced water absorbency, ensuring sufficient water availability for gluten network development. The findings underscore the critical role of precise hydration in optimizing the functional properties of oat bran for bread-making applications.