Formulation and Quality Evaluation of Gluten-Free Muffins Enriched with Foxtail Millet and Flaxseed Flour

Abstract

The ipresent istudy iwas iundertaken ito idevelop iand ievaluate igluten-free imuffins ienriched iwith ifoxtail imillet iflour iand iflaxseed iflour, iaiming ito iimprove ithe inutritional iquality iand ifunctional iproperties iof iconventional ibakery iproducts. iGluten-free iformulations iare iincreasingly iimportant idue ito irising icases iof iceliac idisease, igluten iintolerance, iand igrowing iconsumer idemand ifor ihealthier ibakery ialternatives. iIn ithis istudy, isix iformulations i(T₀–T₅) iwere iprepared iby ipartial isubstitution iof irice iflour iwith ifoxtail imillet iflour i(0–55%) iwhile imaintaining ia iconstant ilevel iof iflaxseed iflour i(5%) iin iall itreatments iexcept ithe icontrol i(T₀).The ideveloped imuffins iwere ianalyzed ifor iproximate icomposition, iphysical iproperties, isensory icharacteristics, imicrobiological iquality, iand istorage istability. iThe iproximate ianalysis iof iraw imaterials ishowed ithat ifoxtail imillet iflour iand iflaxseed iflour iwere irich isources iof iprotein, idietary ifiber, ifat, iand iminerals icompared ito irice iflour, iindicating itheir ipotential ifor inutritional ienhancement. iPhysical ianalysis irevealed ithat imuffin iweight, iheight, ivolume, iand ispecific ivolume iincreased iwith ithe iincorporation iof imillet iand iflaxseed iflour iup ito ian ioptimum ilevel, iwith iT₄ i(50% irice iflour, i45% ifoxtail imillet iflour, iand i5% iflaxseed iflour) ishowing ithe ibest istructural iquality iand iaeration. Sensory ievaluation iusing ia inine-point ihedonic iscale iindicated ithat iall iformulations iwere iacceptable, ibut iT₄ iobtained ithe ihighest ioverall iacceptability iscore idue ito isuperior icolour, itaste, itexture, iaroma, iand imouthfeel. iMicrobiological ianalysis iconfirmed ithat ifreshly ibaked imuffins iwere ifree ifrom imicrobial icontamination, iwhile iduring istorage ia igradual iincrease iin imicrobial iload iwas iobserved; ihowever, iit iremained iwithin iacceptable isafety ilimits iup ito isix idays iof iambient istorage. The istorage istudy iof ithe ioptimized iformulation i(T₄) idemonstrated ia igradual idecrease iin imoisture icontent iand isensory iscores iover itime, iwhile iproximate icomposition iremained irelatively istable. iDespite iminor iquality ideterioration iduring istorage, ithe imuffins imaintained iacceptable isensory iand imicrobial iquality ithroughout ithe istorage iperiod.