The sorghum crop (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) has a varied range of utilization either for human consumption or as feed‐stock for animals. The physical and chemical characteristics of flours have a bearing on their quality and the products produced from them. In this study, the utilization of a Zimbabwean sorghum hybrid and high‐gluten wheat flour on composite bread‐making volume was evaluated. The composite proportion for all the analysis in this study was from 90:10, 80:20, 70:30 wheat‐sorghum flours, respectively, and 100% wheat as the control. Flours were characterized for total protein, starch, moisture, and fat‐content by using standard methods. Dough rheological properties of every composite flour were through the use of the Viscograph‐E, Farinograph, and the Extensograph. A similar trend was observed throughout the study that; an increase in sorghum addition resulted in a significant decrease compared to the control. Bread‐making was conducted using the sponge and dough method characterized by a 4‐hr fermentation of the sponge prior to mixing with the dough before baking. The specific volume of the control wheat flour (4.26 cm3/g) was not significantly different (p < .05) from 10% sorghum flour (4.16 cm3/g) substitution. However, 20% and 30% degrees of substitution were essentially different (p < .05). The overall sensory acceptability of the bread was not significantly different up to 10% sorghum addition compared to the wheat control and decreased with an increase in sorghum addition up to 30%. Substitution of sorghum to less than 20% could be ideal in producing bread that is identical to that of wheat.
Practical applications
The research highlights the utilization of sorghum flour in composite bread‐making. The climatic variability resulting in erratic rainfall patterns has created unfavorable weather condition for extensive wheat production in Zimbabwe and most parts of Africa. The increased urbanization and the need for wheat‐based products has prompted Governments to import wheat in an endeavor to meet the local deficit production. This research postulates that; sorghum flour can be subbed to less than 20% to make bread with identical volumetric and sensory acceptable characteristic compared to 100% wheat bread. This initiative will reduce the burden of the costly wheat imports and ultimately reduce the price of bread in the market and increase profit margins for the industry. The idea behind the use of high gluten wheat is solely to compensate for the poor viscoelastic properties of sorghum flour.
Common wood glue is a widely available material for domestic applications. Given its adhesion properties, it is possible to create a low cost composites using such reinforcements as coir fiber to create a material that can be used for domestic repairs. In this work, a new multiscale composite material was developed using wood glue matrix reinforced with carbon nanofibers and coir fiber reinforcement. The main aim was to determine the suitability of such a material to be used for domestic DIY applications. According to literature, such a material has not been developed before. However, natural fiber has been used with other materials such as epoxy resin to form composites. A fit for purpose evaluation was conducted by testing the mechanical performance of the prepared composite specimens. It was found that mechanical properties of wood glue improved with an increase in carbon nanofiber and coir fiber content. It was also found that at low volume fraction ratios, the effect of carbon nanofibers was not significant. However, carbon nanofiber volume fraction ratios above 1% seemed to produce marginal improvement in performance. On the other hand, addition of coir fibers exhibited an increase in strength for volume factions of 2.5% to 6 %. However, the material ductility reduced significantly with increase in coir fiber volume fraction. Based on these findings, it was concluded that coir fiber / wood glue matrix composite is suitable for use in none structural domestic applications..
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