Production of Bread Using Wheat and Cassava Blend Flavoured With Ginger

Production of Bread Using Wheat and Cassava Blend Flavoured With Ginger

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour and water usually by baking. It is a good source of good nutrients such as macronutrients (carbohydrates protein, and fats) and micronutrients (minerals and vitamins) that are essential for human health.

Its origin dates back to the Neolithic era and is still one of the consumed and acceptable staple food products in all parts of the world.

The word bread is used to describe the whole range of different varieties of bread which may vary in weight, shape, crust hardness, c \rumb cell structure, softness, color, and eating quantity.

There are many combinations and proportions of types of flour and other ingredients and also different traditional recipes and modes of preparation of bread. Bread may be leavened by different processes ranging from the use of naturally occurring microbes (sourdough recipe) to high-pressure artificial aeration method during preparation or baking. However, some products are left unleavened either for preference or for traditional or religious reasons.

In Nigeria, bread has become the second most widely consumed non-indigenous food product since. It is consumed extensively in most homes, restaurants, and hotels. It has been hitherto produced from wheat as a major raw material. In Nigeria, wheat production is limited and wheat flour is imported to meet the local flour needs for baking products. Thus, a huge amount of foreign exchange is used every year for the importation of wheat. An effort has been made to promote the use of composite flour in which flour from locally grown gaps replace a portion of wheat flour for use in bread, thereby decreasing the demand for imported wheat and helping in producing bread.

Composite flour is a mixture of wheat with other materials replacing substantially a portion of wheat flour to form suitable flour for baking purposes. The idea of composite flour began by the food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in the 1960s to reduce the import dependency of developing countries. (Onyeku et al; 2008, Sibel 2006; Owuamanam, 2007). There is now a substantial quantity of composite bread in the market, such bread requires at least 70% wheat flour to be able to rise because wheat contains gluten.

Wheat in conventional flour is rich in gluten, which makes a better preference for bread baking. It is however expensive because it is not grown in Nigeria due to the unfavorable climatic condition using huge foreign exchange (Igbabu Biana Dooshima, 2014).

The unbridled importation of food by developing countries is detrimental to their local economy and threatens food security. Many developing countries spend a large proportion of their foreign exchange earnings on food, especially wheat. It is, therefore, of economic importance if wheat importation is reduced by the substitution with other locally available raw materials (Onyeku et al; 2008) such as cassava, maize, potato, and other carbohydrate flour.

High quantity cassava flour has been identified as a local alternative to substitute part of wheat flour in composite flour in Nigeria due to the high production of cassava. In Nigeria, cassava is one of the most important crops in terms of production energy intake and contribution to Agricultural GDP. The possibility of using starchy tubers as part of bread production instead of 100% wheat flour depends on their chemical and physical properties. Those in the bakery sector have given reasons for the slow adoption of this technology, including ease of deterioration of cassava bread due to high moisture content and microbial load, fear of the presence of toxic components in cassava, and finally bulkiness.

Of interest in this project work is the production of bread using wheat and cassava flour blends flavored with ginger.

Ginger, an antioxidant has been chosen in this work to be used as a flavoring agent. Ginger does not only serve as a flavoring agent but also has a health benefit.

The new study published in LWT-food science and technology suggests that enriching bread with ginger could boost its antioxidant content without hurting any functional or sensory properties due to potential health benefits, ginger has gained considerable attention as a botanical dietary supplement in both U.S and Europe in recent years, especially for the use in the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions. Gingerols are a group of phenols found in ginger that is suggested to offer health benefits (Nathan Gray, 2010).

1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

– To produce bread using composite flours of wheat and cassava flavored with fingers of varying ratios.

It is hoped that the result will increase the utilization of cassava flour and will reduce the pressure on wheat flour for the production of bread and other bakery products that are of good and acceptable quality.

1.3 BREAD

Bread is an age-long product and a staple food prepared principally by baking dough of flour. Bread is a food product that is universally accepted as a very convenient of form food that has desirability to all populations both the rich and poor, rural and urban.

1.3.1 Nutritional value of bread

Bread supplies a significant portion of the nutrients required for growth, maintenance of health, and well-being. It is an excellent source of proteins, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. It is also low in fat and cholesterol. Bread is quite bulky, so it takes longer to digest and therefore more satisfying and less fattening than fats, sugars, and alcohols commonly consumed in excess. All bread is nutritious and the difference between them in nutritional value is not significant if we eat a balanced diet.

1.4 WHEAT AND ITS NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Wheat flour contains from 65-70% starch, but its most important value lies in its 9 -14% protein content. Gliadin and gluten are the principal proteins, constituting approximately 8% of the gluten. Cellulose, fats, and sugar total less than 4%.

Endosperm: The inner part of the wheat kernel (about 83% of the kernel) consists mostly of starch and it is the source of white flour. Of the nutrients in the whole kernel, the endosperm only contains about 43% of pantothenic acid, 32% riboflavin, 12% niacin, 6% pyridoxine, 3% thiamine, and 70-75% protein.

Bran: Of the nutrients, in the whole kernel the bran (in addition to vital unabsorbable fiber or roughage) contains about 86% niacin, 73% pyridoxine, 50% of pantothenic acid, 42% riboflavin, 33% thiamine and 19% of the protein.

Germs: Of the nutrients in the whole kernel, the germ contains about 64% thiamine, 26% of riboflavin, 21% pyridoxine, 7% of pantothenic acid, 2% niacin, and 8% of protein.

1.4.1 Health benefits associated with wheat

In the words of Beuchat, L.R. (1999) wheat bring with itself loads of health benefits that can be discussed as follows

– Bread, which is made of wheat flour, is extremely nourishing and gives strength and vitality to people with high appetites. It also helps in curing nose bleeding when wheat is dissolved in milk and sugar is consumed by the victim.

– It is a rich source of vitamin B and basic amino acids including argentine and lysine.

– Wheat also helps in curing constipation and is also beneficial for people suffering from cancer.

– The whole grain in wheat helps in preventing diabetes as it influences the insulin level by maintaining the body weight.

1.5 NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF CASSAVA FLOUR

Cassava is a good and cheap source of carbohydrates. Sugarcane is considered the highest producer of carbohydrates.

1.5.1 Health Benefits of Cassava

– Cassava has nearly twice the calories as potatoes, the highest for any tropical starch-rich tubers and roots. 100g root provides 160 calories. Their calories mainly come from sucrose forming the bulk of the sugars in tubers, accounting for more than 69%, not the total sugars.

– Cassava is a moderate source of some of the valuable B- a complex group of vitamins such as folate, thiamin, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin, and pantothenic acid.

– The root is the chief source of some important minerals like zinc, magnesium, copper, iron, and manganese for many inhabitants in the tropical belts.

As in other roots and tubers, cassava is free from gluten. Gluten-free starch is used in special food preparations for celiac disease patients.