Impact of different ancient wheats and pseudocereals on physical, chemical, and functional properties of gevrek, cereal‐based snack product

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Gevrek is grissini/breadstick like snack product.In this study, whole flours of modern wheat (Esperia), ancient wheats (einkorn, emmer, and spelt) and pseudocereal (amaranth, buckwheat, and quinoa) were used in gevrek formulation instead of refined wheat flour, and the effects on the physical, nutritional, and functional properties of gevreks were researched. Findings: The use of pseudocereals in the gevrek formulation decreased the lightness and yellowness value compared to the control and ancient wheat gevreks. Also, pseudocereals especially buckwheat decreased the hardness of gevreks significantly (p < .05). The phytic acid content of Esperia and buckwheat gevrek were 50.98% and 51.21% less than amaranth gevreks, respectively. The use of buckwheat and emmer contributed greatly to the increase in total phenolic content as well as antioxidant activity. Amaranth gevrek was superior in terms of Ca, Fe, and Mg content among all gevrek samples. Esperia and emmer gevreks were the most liked by the panelists when all parameters were taken into account. Conclusions: The use of ancient wheats and pseudocereals in the gevrek formulation yielded products with improved protein, antioxidant activity and phenolic content, acceptable technological quality and distinctive sensory properties.Significance and Novelty: Compared to traditional gevrek, our findings were the first to show that it is possible to produce nutritionally superior ancient wheat and pseudocereal-enriched functional snacks (gevrek).