Development of a Functional Whole Wheat Flour for Pizza Dough: Nutritional Enhancement and Rheological Optimization

Dietary fiber enrichment of pizza products is nutritionally desirable; however, the incorporation of untreated wheat bran often compromises dough rheology, texture, and consumer acceptance, limiting the use of whole wheat formulations in commercial baking. Although whole wheat flour (WWF) improves fiber intake, it typically produces weak, unstable doughs due to bran interference with gluten development. This study aimed to develop a functional pizza flour (FPF) by enzymatic modification of wheat bran to reduce antinutritional factors while preserving or improving technological quality. Wheat bran was treated with phytase and incorporated into refined flour to produce FPF, which was compared with control refined flour (CF), WWF, and a commercial benchmark (CB). Phytic acid content, farinograph and extensograph parameters, texture profile, and color attributes were evaluated. Enzymatic treatment reduced phytic acid content by over 65%, decreasing levels from approximately 870-300 mg/100 g. FPF dough showed high water absorption (68.0%), long development time (6.25 min), and strong stability (9.0 min), comparable to the CB and superior to WWF. Pizza crusts prepared with FPF exhibited lower chewiness, higher cohesiveness during storage, and distinct color development (ΔE ≈ 27.65). These findings demonstrate that enzymatic modification of wheat bran can mitigate the negative effects of fiber incorporation on dough functionality while enhancing the nutritional profile, providing a viable approach for the development of high-quality, fiber-enriched pizza products. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This research demonstrates that incorporating enzymatically treated bran into pizza formulations can significantly improve dough handling, structural properties, and nutritional value. The approach can be adopted by bakeries, food manufacturers, and product developers to produce high-fiber pizza products with enhanced functional performance, without compromising dough stability and processing characteristics. This method also offers a cost-effective strategy to improve the nutritional profile of baked goods in commercial applications.