WHEAT BRAN (TRITICUM AESTIVUM): COMPOSITION, FUNCTIONALITY AND INCORPORATION IN UNLEAVENED BREAD

Abstract High fiber Chapathi, an Indian unleavened bread incorporating different levels (5–15%) of wheat bran to wheat flour was prepared and evaluated for acceptability and farinograph characteristics. Whole wheat flour, wheat bran and its differently milled fractions were analyzed for chemical composition and functional properties. The water absorption capacity of bran was slightly lower than that of flour and did not increase as a function of time. The bran incorporated doughs were difficult to knead and sticky with no change in rolling properties. Farinograph characteristics revealed an increase in dough development time and a decrease in mixing tolerance index as the level of incorporation of bran increased. Wheat bran incorporated products scored lesser for the sensory quality attributes than controls. The differences were statistically significant for products prepared with 10% and 15% bran and not significant for products prepared with 5% level of bran. It can be concluded that wheat bran can be incorporated up to a level of 5% for preparation of high fiber phulkas or chapathis without affecting sensory quality.