Dietary fiber in bakery products: Source, processing, and function

Bakery products are prevalently consumed foods in the world, and they have been regarded as convenient dietary vehicles for delivering nutritive ingredients into people's diet, of which, dietary fiber (DF) is one of the most popular items. The food industry attempts to produce fiber-enriched bakery products with both increasing nutritional value and appealing palatability. As many new sources of DFs become available, and consumers are moving towards healthier diets, studies of using these DFs as functional ingredients in baked goods are becoming vast. Besides, the nutrition value of DF is commonly accepted, and many investigations have also revealed the health benefits of fiber-enriched bakery products. Thus, this chapter presents an overview of (1) trends in supplementation of DF from various sources, (2) impact of DF on dough processing, quality and physiological functionality of bakery products, and (3) technologies used to improve the compatibility of DF in bakery products.

Wheat bran, as the resource of dietary fiber: a review

Wheat bran is a major by-product of white flour milling and had been produced in large quantities around the world; it is rich in dietary fiber and had already been used in many products such as whole grain baking or high dietary fiber addition. It has been confirmed that a sufficient intake of dietary fiber in wheat bran with appropriate physiological functions is beneficial to human health. Wheat bran had been considered as the addition with a large potential for improving the nutritional condition of the human body based on the dietary fiber supplement. The present review summarized the available information on wheat bran related to its dietary fiber functions, which may be helpful for further development of wheat bran as dietary fiber resource.

Influence of Durum Wheat Bran Particle Size on Phytochemical Content and on Leavened Bread Baking Quality

Wheat bran is a conventional by-product of the wheat milling industry mainly used for animal feed. It is a rich and inexpensive source of phytonutrients, so is in demand for fibre-rich food products but creates quality issues when incorporated into bread. The purpose of this study was to characterize the physicochemical properties and phytochemical composition of different size durum bran fractions and show how they impact bread quality. Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) was milled to create a coarse bran fraction (CB), which was further ground into a finer fraction (FB) which was sieved using four screens with apertures 425, 315, 250, 180, and <180 µm to create a particle size range of 1497 to 115 µm. All fractions contained phytosterol with highest in the 180 and FB, while total phenolic acids and antioxidant capacity was highest in CB and 425. Use of the fractions in a leavened common wheat (T. aestivum L.) bread formula at 10% incorporation negatively impacted bread loaf volume, colour, and texture compared to standard loaves, with CB having the least impact. Results suggest that to combine the highest phytochemical content with minimal impact on bread quality, bran particle size should be considered, with CB being the best choice.