Gluten‐Free Breads: The Gap Between Research and Commercial Reality

Abstract

The market for gluten‐free products is steadily growing and gluten‐free bread (GFB) keeps on being one of the most challenging products to develop. Although numerous research studies have worked on improving the manufacture of GFBs, some have adopted approaches far from commercial reality. This review analyzes the ingredient list and nutrition facts of 228 commercially available GFBs produced by different brands around the world. The results from studying the ingredient list of breads revealed that commercial breads do not tend to use a single starchy source or gluten replacer, but a combination of several ingredients to optimize bread quality. Maize, tuber starches, and rice flour were the main starchy sources. Regarding hydrocolloids, the most often included ingredients were hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, xanthan and guar gum, and psyllium. Proteins and sugars were added, respectively, in 81% and 87% of the commercial breads analyzed. Furthermore, it was found that vegetable oils were preferred over fats. A long list of ingredients was observed in commercial GFBs, with the presence of a wide range of additives, including acidifiers, emulsifiers, leavening agents, preservatives, and aromas or flavorings. Meanwhile, nutrition facts showed a lower protein and higher fat content for GFBs compared to a gluten‐containing counterpart, with small differences for salt and sugar. This research expands the current knowledge on GFB manufacturing, giving a panoramic outlook on the current situation in the GFB market, and helping both scientists and gluten‐free companies unify/identify common trends.

Effect of Coffee Cascara Dietary Fiber on the Physicochemical, Nutritional and Sensory Properties of a Gluten-Free Bread Formulation

“…This may be explained by the addition of ICCDF to the novel formulations that decreased caloric content of breads (Table 5). Also, these results show higher protein values than the average protein content of gluten-free breads found in other recent studies [48]. To our knowledge, this is the first time the amino acids profile is analyzed in ICCDF.…”

Determination and Comparison of the Lipid Profile and Sodium Content of Gluten-Free and Gluten-Containing Breads from the Spanish Market

“…Therefore, these deviations were not surprising since the GF breads have on average much more ingredients than G breads (Tables S3 and S4) and the calculation of the declared values has more sources of uncertainty. This problem was previously anticipated by Roman et al [13], but not checked through analytical determinations. The fat and salt content of the G and GF samples contribute in a different proportion to the reference nutrient intakes set by the EU legislation [35] (Table 3).…”

Chemical Composition and Glycemic Index of Gluten-Free Bread Commercialized in Brazil

“…Gluten-free bread enriched with 2% of HPMC, CMC, xanthan gum, and apple fiber presented GIs of 58.59, 62.71, 66.25, and 65.12, respectively [47]. In both analyzed GFBs and WGFBs, HPMC was present in 100% of the samples classified as a medium GI, reinforcing its efficacy in mitigating gluten-free products GI, accordingly to the literature data [44,47,54] Despite the implementation of similar ingredients, none of the commercialized GFBs followed the formulations described by the mentioned literature studies, thus, supporting the gap among studies regarding nutritional quality in gluten-free products and the commercial reality [55]. Probably, sensory aspects would be impaired with high amounts of fiber, and in the consumers' habit, overall acceptance is the primary determinant for the food to be consumed [56,57].…”