Enrichment of antioxidant capacity and vitamin E in pita made from barley

This study aimed to enhance total antioxidant and vitamin E content of pita bread, by replacing 50% of the standard baker's flour with flours milled from covered (WI2585 and Harrington) or hulless (Finniss) barley genotypes, previously shown to have high antioxidant and vitamin E levels at harvest. Pita breads were made from either 100% baker's flour (control) or 50% malt flour, whole-grain flour, or flour from barley grains pearled at 10%, 15%, and 20% grain weight. Antioxidant capacity and vitamin E content of flours and pitas were determined by their ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals and high performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The physical and sensory properties of the pitas were also assessed. All pitas made from either whole grain or pearled barley flour had a higher antioxidant capacity and most also had higher vitamin E content than standard pita. The antioxidant and vitamin E levels were reduced in pearled compared to whole grains, however the extent of that reduction varied among genotypes. The greatest antioxidant and vitamin E levels were found in pita made from malt flour or Finniss whole grain flour. Furthermore, sensory analysis suggested these pitas were acceptable to consumers and retained similar physical and sensory properties to those in the control pita.Thi Thu Dung Do, Beverly Muhlhausler, Amanda Box and Amanda J. Abl

Wheat Tortilla Quality: Impact of Amylose Content Adjustments Using Waxy Wheat Flour

Amylose content is closely related to wheat flour pasting or thermal properties, and thus affects final food qualities. Fourteen flour blends with amylose content ranges of \u3c 1 to 29% were used to study tortilla production and quality parameters. Reduced amylose contents decreased dough stickiness and pliability; low amylose doughs were also very smooth in appearance. Very low flour amylose content was associated with earlier tortilla puffing and poor machinability during baking, darker color, low opacity, larger diameters, and reduced flexibility after storage. Tortilla texture analysis indicated that lowering amylose content gave fresh tortillas higher extensibility; after three or more days storage, however, low amylose flours required more force to break the tortillas and the rupture distances became shorter. These results, as reflected in covariate analysis, were not significantly reflected by the flour blend\u27s protein content, swelling volume/power, SDS-sedimentation volume, mixograph dough development time, or mixograph tolerance score. Based on our observation of an initial increase in extensibility with reduced-amylose tortillas, adding 10-20% waxy flour into wild-type flours should be ideal for restaurant (on-site) tortilla production or circumstances where tortillas are consumed shortly (within a day) after production. The optimal flour amylose content for hot-press wheat tortilla products is 24-26%