Dietary Fiber and Processing Interventions for Enhanced Batters and Final Baked Products: A Review

Batter is a semiliquid mixture made up of flour, water, and other ingredients composed of biopolymers such as carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, and lipids and is used to make cake, muffins, and crepes or to coat certain foods before frying or baking, which plays a vital role in determining the texture, flavor, and overall quality of the final product. Several factors are involved in preparing batter, in which dietary fiber could be enhanced in its rheological properties, nutrition, and sensory attributes. However, fermentation improves the quality, enhances digestibility, and improves batter. Nonetheless, there is a gap in the research to fulfill this. Therefore, batter fortified with natural dietary fiber such as arabinoxylans, resistant starch, pectin, inulin, and beta-glucan with the process interventions optimizes the rheological properties of batter and contributes to enhancing texture, stability, and overall product quality. Moreover, this review shows that soluble and insoluble dietary fiber supplementation in batter coating reduces the oil uptake during frying and decreases the fat content in various meat products. This review has studied dietary fiber limitation in batter and its interaction during fermentation and their characteristics. Also, applying dietary fiber as a nutrient-rich source could be product-friendly for the food industry and improve the quality and safety of batter-based products.