Enrichment of wheat bread with carob molasses source: Impact on bread quality and acceptability

Abstract

Carob is one the most important plant sources of dietary fiber, which is essential for human health and must be consumed daily. Carob molasses (pekmez) obtained from carob fruit contains many beneficial components for health. Although the molasses pulp that comes out as waste in the production of molasses contains a large amount of fiber, it is not evaluated. In this study; purification, drying and grinding of the crude carob fiber (CCF) from raw molasses pulp was carried out. The obtained CCF flour was added to the bread. After baking bread, the effects of the addition of 1 to 5 % CCF flour on chemicals (moisture, ash and protein) and also textural (hardness, color) and sensory properties (acceptability, taste, softness, appearance) of the bread samples were investigated. The results showed that the addition of CCF up to 4 % into the bread dough had no significant effect compared with the control group on these properties. Therefore, a brad formulation can be developed which is a fibrous bakery product with reduced fat for health and which has better sensory appreciation.