The effects of pre-gelatinization, mild and severe parboiling processes on paddy rice and the utilization of the corresponding flours (PGF, MPF, and SPF) for gluten-free (GF) pasta-making were investigated. Flour from native rice (NF) was considered as a control. Two pasta-making processes (extrusion-cooking and conventional extrusion) were carried out and seven GF pasta samples, with different thermal treatments but without the addition of additives, were obtained. The thermal treatments affected the physical properties and the susceptibility to -amylase hydrolysis of rice flours to different extents. The loss of starch granule integrity during the pre-gelatinization process promoted high viscosity at 30°C and dramatically increased the mass of absorbed water, the amount of soluble components leached out from the granules and the fraction of starch quickly hydrolyzed by -amylase. Compared to pre-gelatinization, both parboiling processes induced lower pasting viscosity at any temperature, enzymatic susceptibility, and hydration. The magnitude of these changes significantly increased with the severity of the parboiling treatment. The lowest value for cooking loss was detected for samples prepared by 100% SPF (extrusion-cooking) or by mixture of SPF and PGF (50:50) (conventional extrusion). Nevertheless, the extrusion-cooking process promoted a firm texture when applied to parboiled flours.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of cassava flour in bread making, and the sensory acceptability of the final product. Different baking trials were carried out by using egg white and extra-virgin olive oil, in consideration of their high nutritional value with respect to other food additives (i.e., hydrocolloids). Significant (p < 0.05) improvements of loaf specific volume (from 2.24 to 3.93 mL/g) and crumb firmness (from 9.14 to 4.67 N) were achieved by contemporarily including egg white and extra-virgin olive oil in the formulation. Cassava breads containing both these ingredients obtained the best scores from panelists for all the test breads examined and resulted attractive as the wheat bread prepared as reference.

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b Consiglio per la Ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'Economia Agraria, Unità di ricerca per la selezione dei cereali e la valorizzazione delle varietà vegetali (CREA-ZA), S. Angelo Lodigiano, Italy c current address: Consiglio per la Ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'Economia Agraria,