Gluten‐free bread applications: Thermo‐mechanical and techno‐functional characterization of Kañiwa flour

Abstract

Background and objectives Kañiwa is a little‐known Andean native grain with excellent nutritional value. It contains no gluten and, therefore, has potential as a raw material for gluten‐free products. The aim of this study was to evaluate techno‐functional, thermo‐mechanical, and physicochemical properties of two kañiwa varieties (Cupi and Illpa Inia), in order to assess their potential as ingredients in gluten‐free bakery products. Findings The Illpa Inia variety presented superior thermo‐mechanical properties, such as greater mechanical resistance and stability, as well as less protein weakening and starch retrogradation, which were related to the quantity of its proteins, fiber content, and strong associations between lipid and starch. Conclusion Similarities in starch characteristics and differences in fiber, fat, and protein quality and quantity between kañiwa varieties were found. This resulted in higher resistance to withstand mechanical and thermal stress for the Illpa Inia variety. The small size of the starch granules in kañiwa contributed to further improvement in its resistance against mechanical and thermal stress. This variety of kañiwa represents a promising ingredient for the food industry. Significance and Novelty The physicochemical, techno‐functional, and thermo‐mechanical characterization of flours of two Peruvian kañiwa varieties provided new information on the suitability of kañiwa for use in gluten‐free baking. Kañiwa is an interesting and novel ingredient to be used in gluten‐free products, enhancing the nutritional value of these products.

A proposal to model the pasting curve of gluten‐free bakery formulations

“…The other components present in flours (proteins and fiber) can interact with water restricting water availability to starch. Similar values have been reported for the enthalpy of gelatinization in kañiwa flour (4.23 J/g) and almost double the value for isolated kañiwa starch (8.00 J/g) (Luna‐Mercado & Repo‐Carrasco‐Valencia, 2021; Repo‐Carrasco‐Valencia et al, 2020).…”

“…However, the substitution of 50% of potato starch by kañiwa flour led to a reduction of peak viscosity. This effect could be related to the small size of the kañiwa starch granule, which ranges from .7 to 1.3 μm (Luna‐Mercado & Repo‐Carrasco‐Valencia, 2021) while tuber starches range between 50 and 100 μm (Martínez et al, 2021). And also, the low amylose content of kañiwa starch could contribute to it.…”

Structural, thermal and energetic properties of Andean-pseudocereal flours with high nutritional values

“…Taking in account the uncertainty values, both temperature and enthalpy gelatinization parameters determined in this work are within of the range values reported in the literature (See Table 3). It is interesting to note for kañiwa flour, (i) the gelatinization-temperatures (onset T i , final T f and gelatinization-peak T max ) were lower, between 1 and 4 K, than corresponding temperatures of quinoa and kiwicha flours; (ii) the gelatinization enthalpy ΔH gel (= 4.3 ± 1.6 J g −1 ) was very close to the reported by Luna-Mercado and Repo-Carrasco [23] (Illpa Inia variety) and Salas-Valero et al [18] (Illpa Inia and Cupi varieties); and (iii) ΔH gel was lower than for kiwicha (5.7 J g −1 ) and quinoa flour (7.9 J g −1 ). This last trend is maintained for the corresponding starches, although ΔH gel of the flours are between 3 and 8 J g −1 less than for the starches [3,28].…”

“…e ΔH gel = The heat absorbed for flour gelatinization per gram dry sample Within of the uncertainty values, q NCV of kiwicha flour (18.47 ± 0.11 kJ g −1 or 4415 ± 26 kcal kg −1 ) was comparable to the quinoa flour (18.60 ± 0.16 kJ g −1 or 4445 ± 39 kcal kg −1 ) and both slightly less than for kañiwa (18.77 ± 0.15 kJ g −1 or 4433 ± 35 kcal kg −1 ). These values are between, (i) 85 and 195 kcal kg −1 lower than those reported by Ortiz-Chura et al [19] as "gross energy" and performed by combustion technique; (ii) 205 and 1822 kcal kg −1 higher than those reported by Pereira et al [44], Luna-Mercado and Repo-Carrasco [23], Ayseli et al [36], Navruz-Varli et al [21], Burgos and Armada [45], Moscoso-Mujica et al [46] and Nowak et al [47] as "energy content" estimations considering protein + carbohydrates + fat contents. The closest value (less than 245 kcal kg −1 ) corresponds to the quinoa flour, estimated by Pereira et al [44] applying the relation 4× (g protein) + 4 × (g carbohydrates) + 9 × (g fat).…”

“…Starch is the major component of the pseudocereal flour, accounting for between 50 and 75% of its content [18,22]. This carbohydrate has low amylose level, between 4 and 23.7% [10,11,21,[23][24][25], mainly kiwicha flour is considered as waxi variety. The amylose content is in general less than in well-known cereals such as corn (20−30%), wheat (28%) or rice (14−25%) [17].…”