Coconut flour (Cocos nucifera L.) partial replacement on wheat flour (Triticum aestivum)-based tortillas and its effect on dough rheology and tortilla quality

Abstract

One of the popular flatbreads in northern Mexico are the wheat-flour (WF) tortillas to prepare ‘burritos’ widely accepted in USA and other countries, but with low nutritional quality. Therefore, to increase protein and fiber contents we replaced 10 or 20% WF with coconut (Cocos nucifera, variety Alto Saladita) flour (CF) and evaluated the effects in dough rheology and quality of the composite tortillas. There were differences in the optimum mixing time among the doughs. The protein, fat, and ash contents of the tortillas increased (p < 0.05), with the CF increasing. The carbohydrate content was not different (p > 0.05), but the 20% CF tortillas contained more fiber than the control tortilla. Tortilla firmness increased (p < 0.05) and extensibility decreased (p < 0.05) with the CF increasing. The 80:20 blend tortillas showed the highest firmness (7.9 N), whereas the control and the 90:10 blend tortillas did not differ (p > 0.05) in firmness. There were no differences (p > 0.05) in extensibility between the composite tortillas. The physicochemical properties of the tortillas indicated that the 20% CF-containing tortilla is a better nutritive option to only wheat flour tortilla for its higher dietary fiber and protein contents, in addition to the slightly reduction in extensibility compared to the WF tortilla.