Chemical Composition and Starch Digestibility of Different Gluten-free Breads

9 pages, 4 tables, 2 figures.-- Published online 19 July 2011.-- The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comThe increasing demand for gluten free products has favoured the design of numerous gluten free bakery products which intended to mimic the quality characteristics of wheat bakery products. The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritional pattern of gluten free breads representative of the Spanish market for this type of products. The protein, fat and mineral content of the gluten free breads showed great variation, ranging from 0.91g/100g to 15.05g/100g, 2.00g/100g-26.10g/100g and 1.10g/100g to 5.43g/100g, respectively. Gluten free breads had very low contribution to the recommended daily protein intake, with a high contribution to the carbohydrate dietary reference intake. Dietary fiber content also showed great variation varying from 1.30g/100g to 7.20g/100g. In vitro enzymatic hydrolysis of starch showed that the most predominant fraction was the rapidly digestible starch that varied from 75.6 g/100g to 92.5g/100g. Overall, gluten free breads show great variation in the nutrient composition, being starchy based foods low in proteins and high in fat content, with high glycaemic index.Financial support of Association of Coeliac Patients (Madrid, Spain), Spanish Scientific Research Council (CSIC) and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Project AGL2008-00092/ALI). ME Matos would like to thank predoctoral grant by the Council of Scientific and Humanistic Development of University Central of Venezuela (Caracas, Venezuela).Peer reviewe