Master of Science / Food Science / Fadi Aramouni / Due to an increase in awareness of celiac disease, the gluten-free market continues to expand. However, gluten-free breads are still characterized by a poor structure and overall mediocre quality. This research was aimed at determining the impact of egg addition as well as an antistaling agent (DATEM) on the quality of a batter-based gluten-free sorghum bread. Gluten-free bread loaves containing 20, 25, or 30% eggs (as is) on a flour basis were evaluated against a control (no egg). The impact of the antistaling agent, DATEM at 0.5% was also studied for each of these formulations. Quality factors evaluated included water activity, color, specific volume, and cell size. Texture profile analysis was performed to evaluate staling rate based on changes in crumb hardness values and a trained panel evaluated staling attributes by descriptive analysis. Finally, a consumer acceptance test on sorghum bread with and without eggs was also conducted. Results showed that sorghum breads with eggs had higher specific volumes than control (increase from 0.06 cm[superscript]3/g to 0.11 cm[superscript]3/g), while DATEM had a negative effect on the volume of gluten-free bread (decrease of 0.73 cm[superscript]3/g). Eggs also improved cell structure and produced significantly darker crust (p<0.05). Additionally, the addition of eggs reduced bread hardness (from 54 g force to 142 g force on fresh bread) and slowed the rate of staling over the 12 day storage period studied. Descriptive analysis results confirmed the findings of the texture analysis, showing control bread significantly harder (p<0.05) than egg-containing bread at days 0 and 4. The consumer test indicated a significant preference (p<0.05) for sorghum bread with eggs over the control. The overall acceptability score for this bread was above 6 on a 1 to 9 hedonic scale. The score was closer to 7 when the bread was rated by consumers with celiac disease. This research proved that the addition of eggs to a gluten-free sorghum bread formulation resulted in delayed staling and better overall quality and acceptability of the product.

The food industry has responded to the American Heart Association's overwhelming concerns about the complications of obesity with an array of fat reduced products that maintain the functionality of fat in given systems. In baked products, it appears that no one single ingredient effectively mimics these functions. The present study investigated the effect of liquid or dry honey as a partial replacement for sugar on the baking and keeping qualities of fat reduced muffins. The fat reduced muffins also utilized a hydrocolloid fat replacer, bacterial and fungal amylases, and an emulsifier (DATEM). Results showed that both liquid and dry honey significantly (p<0.05) increased crust and crumb color at all replacement levels, however the use of 25% liquid honey was shown to favorably increase the crust color of fat reduced muffins. Volume was not significantly (p>0.05) affected but appeared to decrease with the addition of honey due to either premature starch gelatinization or a decrease in batter pH. The addition of honey increased moisture content, and decreased water activity, but did not decrease firmness or staling rates especially after prolonged frozen storage. Sensory panelists noted that the addition of liquid or dry honey increased the cohesive forces and decreased tenderness. The addition of moisture to the fat reduced system did not appear to improve the perceived moistness of the product. / Master of Science

Selected emulsifiers, enzymes, and a fat substitute were incorporated into a standard muffin recipe, and their effects were compared to a full fat counterpart. Physical and sensory data were reported at the 0.01 significance level. Physical tests indicated no significant differences (p>0.01) among crust “L” and “b” values, specific gravity, water activity, and staling rate after 48 hours storage. The control muffin had a significantly (p<0.01) more yellow crumb, was significantly (p<0.01) less firm, and contained less moisture (p<0.01). The versions containing SSL and DATEM were less firm (p<0.01) and retained slightly more moisture (p<0.01) than the other reduced fat muffins. The control muffins and the versions containing SSL and DATEM were significantly (p<0.01) greater in volume than the other reduced fat muffins. Fat and DATEM were found to prolong retrogradation at a significantly (p<0.01) slower rate than in the other versions after 24 hours storage. Sensory results indicated no significant differences (p>0.01) in perceived adhesiveness. The muffins containing only the fat substitute and enzymes were rated with a significantly (p<0.01) darker crust color and (p<0.01) aftertaste than the other versions. The control muffin was significantly (p<0.01) moister, and contained a larger crumb (p<0.01) than the other versions. The control muffin was significantly (p<0.01) less cohesive. The results obtained from the data indicated that there were similarities and differences between the reduced fat versions and the control. / Master of Science