Investigating the einkorn (Triticum monococcum ) and common wheat (Triticum aestivum) bread crumb structure with X-ray microtomography: effects on rheological and sensory properties

Innovations in nondestructive assessment of baked products: Current trends and future prospects

Rising consumer awareness, coupled with advances in sensor technology, is propelling the food manufacturing industry to innovate and employ tools that ensure the production of safe, nutritious, and environmentally sustainable products. Amidst a plethora of nondestructive techniques available for evaluating the quality attributes of both raw and processed foods, the challenge lies in determining the most fitting solution for diverse products, given that each method possesses its unique strengths and limitations. This comprehensive review focuses on baked goods, wherein we delve into recently published literature on cutting-edge nondestructive methods to assess their feasibility for Industry 4.0 implementation. Emphasizing the need for quality control modalities that align with consumer expectations regarding sensory traits such as texture, flavor, appearance, and nutritional content, the review explores an array of advanced methodologies, including hyperspectral imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, terahertz, acoustics, ultrasound, X-ray systems, and infrared spectroscopy. By elucidating the principles, applications, and impacts of these techniques on the quality of baked goods, the review provides a thorough synthesis of the most current published studies and industry practices. It highlights how these methodologies enable defect detection, nutritional content prediction, texture evaluation, shelf-life forecasting, and real-time monitoring of baking processes. Additionally, the review addresses the inherent challenges these nondestructive techniques face, ranging from cost considerations to calibration, standardization, and the industry's overreliance on big data.

Characterizing the Internal Structure of Chinese Steamed Bread during Storage for Quality Evaluation Using X-ray Computer Tomography

Chinese steamed bread (CSB) is a traditional food of the Chinese nation, and the preservation of its quality and freshness during storage is very important for its industrial production. Therefore, it is necessary to study the storage characteristics of CSB. Non-destructive CT technology was utilized to characterize and visualize the microstructure of CSB during storage, and also to further study of quality changes. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional images of CSBs were obtained through X-ray scanning and 3D reconstruction. Morphological parameters of the microstructure of CSBs were acquired based on CT image using image processing methods. Additionally, commonly used physicochemical indexes (hardness, flexibility, moisture content) for the quality evaluation of CSBs were analyzed. Moreover, a correlation analysis was conducted based on the three-dimensional morphological parameters and physicochemical indexes of CSBs. The results showed that three-dimensional morphological parameters of CSBs were negatively correlated with moisture content (Pearson correlation coefficient range-0.86~-0.97) and positively correlated with hardness (Pearson correlation coefficient range-0.87~0.99). The results indicate the inspiring capability of CT in the storage quality evaluation of CSB, providing a potential analytical method for the detection of quality and freshness in the industrial production of CSB.

Ancient Wheats-A Nutritional and Sensory Analysis Review

The purpose of this review is to provide a critical evaluation of the nutritional and sensory properties of ancient wheats (spelt, emmer, einkorn, and kamut) and the methods used to analyze them. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main analytical methods applied to study the nutritional properties of ancient wheats. According to our findings, protein content was the most commonly studied macronutrient across all types of ancient wheat species. The article notes that einkorn bran showed the highest protein and ash content, which reveals the potential of ancient wheats to be more widely used in food products. Regarding the majority of amino acids in spelt wheat cultivars, the general trend in the data was rather consistent. This review also compares sensory evaluation methods for different wheat products made from ancient wheats, such as bread, pasta, cooked grains, porridge, snacks, and muffins. The various reported methods and panel sizes used prove that ancient wheat products have many potential sensory advantages. Overall, using ancient wheats in wheat products can enhance the nutritional benefits, increase diversity in the food systems, and may be more appealing to consumers looking for something different, thereby contributing to the development of more sustainable and locally based food systems.

Suitability of Improved and Ancient Italian Wheat for Bread-Making: A Holistic Approach

Ancient and old wheat grains are gaining interest as a genetic reservoir to develop improved Italian genotypes with peculiar features. In this light, the aim of this study was to assess the baking performance of two improved einkorn (Monlis and Norberto) and two improved emmer (Padre Pio and Giovanni Paolo) genotypes in comparison with two Italian landraces (Garfagnana and Cappelli) and Khorasan. This set was evaluated following a holistic approach considering the flour, dough, and bread properties. The results showed that the flour properties, dough rheology, pasting, and fermentation parameters, as well as the bread properties, significantly differed among the studied genotypes. Cappelli produced the bread with the best quality, i.e., the highest volume and lowest firmness. Despite having the same pedigrees, Giovanni Paolo and Padre Pio resulted in significantly different technological properties. Giovanni Paolo flour showed the highest protein content and provided a dough with a high gas production capacity, resulting in the bread having a similar firmness to Cappelli. Padre Pio flour provided bread having a similar volume to Cappelli but a high firmness similar to Khorasan and Garfagnana. The einkorn genotypes, Monlis and Norberto, showed poor fermentation properties and high gelatinization viscosity that resulted in bread with poor quality. Alternatively, they could be more suitable for making non-fermented flatbreads. Our results showed that the improved wheat showed a high versatility of features, which offers bakers a flexible material to make a genotype of bread types.

Evaluation of Flours from Ancient Varieties of Wheat (Einkorn, Emmer, Spelt) used in Production of Bread

The study investigates rheological properties of dough and baking process made from flour obtained by milling grains from ancient varieties of wheat (einkorn, emmer and spelt), compared to common wheat flour dough (Arkadia variety). The findings show that einkorn flour dough and emmer flour dough present poor tolerance to mechanical processing and prolonged fermentation. These types of dough should be mixed through relatively short, and fermentation time should not exceed 80 minutes for einkorn dough and 45 minutes in the case of emmer dough. In the case of spelt flour dough, the optimum duration of mechanical processing and fermentation amounted to 10 minutes and 60 minutes, respectively. In terms of technological and baking parameters, spelt flour was most similar to the flour obtained by milling conventional wheat, and the superiority of the former was in fact identified in the case of selected factors. A one-stage method was used in the baking process and the bread was then subjected to organoleptic and physicochemical assessments and to texture profile analysis (TPA). Measurements were also performed to determine the indicators reflecting the quality of the baking processes, including dough yield, baking loss and bread yield. The physical parameters of the bread produced were significantly related to the wheat variety. The loaves made from einkorn and spelt flour were of good quality, comparable to the bread made from the conventional wheat, while their baking quality indicators were satisfying. Bread dough made from emmer flour did not meet the required parameters mainly related to the organoleptic assessment and selected physical properties of the bread crumb. However, the one-stage production method should not be applied to doughs made from emmer flour. Given the specific characteristics of the breads produced from the ancient wheat varieties, including their pleasant taste and aroma, as well as attractive colour in the case of einkorn bread, these baked products may be an interesting addition to the assortment of breads on offer from bakeries, restaurants and agritourist farms.

Extraction of Pb(II) from wheat samples via dual-frequency ultrasound-assisted enzymatic digestion and the mechanisms of its interactions with wheat proteins

A novel dual-frequency ultrasound-assisted enzymatic digestion (DUED) technique was used to extract Pb(II) from certified reference materials (CRMs) of wheat flour. Following this, the interactions of Pb(II) with wheat proteins were investigated to provide evidence for the selection of enzyme species. The results showed that the simultaneous use of α-amylase and flavourzyme resulted in the recovery of 97.9% of Pb(II) in 6 min under a 40 kHz ultrasonic bath combined with a 20 kHz ultrasonic probe. The exopeptidase activity of the flavourzyme was found to be the main contributor to the extraction of Pb(II) from the CRMs. Additionally, the proposed method exhibited a low detection limit (8.2 ng/g) and high recoveries of real samples (93.4%-112.2%) with RSD less than 7.33%. Furthermore, the oxygen-containing groups of wheat proteins, the nitrogen-containing groups of albumins and globulins, and the sulfur-containing groups of gliadins and glutenins were found to offer coordination sites for Pb(II).

Reinvigorating Modern Breadmaking Based on Ancient Practices and Plant Ingredients, with Implementation of a Physicochemical Approach

In this study, the potential use of ancient plant ingredients in emerging bakery products based on possible prehistoric and/or ancient practices of grinding and breadmaking was explored. Various ancient grains, nuts and seeds (einkorn wheat, barley, acorn, lentil, poppy seeds, linseed) were ground using prehistoric grinding tool replicas. Barley-based sourdough prepared by multiple back-slopping steps was added to dough made from einkorn alone or mixed with the above ingredients (20% level) or commercial flours alone (common wheat, spelt, barley). Sieving analysis showed that 40% of the einkorn flour particles were >400 μm, whereas commercial barley and common wheat flours were finer. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that lentil flour exhibited higher melting peak temperature and lower apparent enthalpy of starch gelatinization. Among all bread formulations tested, barley dough exhibited the highest elastic modulus and complex viscosity, as determined by dynamic rheometry; einkorn breads fortified with linseed and barley had the softest and hardest crust, respectively, as indicated by texture analysis; and common wheat gave the highest loaf-specific volume. Barley sourdough inclusion into einkorn dough did not affect the extent of starch retrogradation in the baked product. Generally, incorporation of ancient plant ingredients into contemporary bread formulations seems to be feasible.

Characteristics of Technological Properties of Grain and Flour from Ancient Varieties of Wheat (Einkorn, Emmer and Spelt)

The study presents assessment of commodity characteristics of grains from ancient varieties of wheat (einkorn, emmer and spelt) in comparison to grains of the conventional wheat cultivar Arkadia. The findings related to the grain of einkorn and emmer were very similar, and far worse than those related to spelt grain; the latter were found with better ratings, sometimes even in comparison to the conventional wheat grain (e.g. the highest mass-weight density). Similar relationships were observed between the flours produced by milling the grains. Analysis of the indirect baking quality indicators showed that flours from einkorn and emmer can effectively be used for baking purposes, however they present low technological value. The flour from emmer wheat was found to be the poorest, which was confirmed e.g. by the low gluten number, gluten index, Zeleny’s index, and high gluten spreadability. Spelt flour was found to present moderate technological value. Based on the results it can be concluded that by using adequate modification in the process of dough kneading and fermentation it will be possible to produce high quality baked goods from ancient wheat grains.