Durum wheat breads enriched with citrus fruits pectin and flavonoids

The present work shows the results of a study aimed at the production of bread enriched with citrus fruit pectin and flavonoids in order to obtain a product with functional properties. The first phase of the work was focused on the qualitative characterization of durum wheat wholegrain flour and citrus fruit pectin and flavonoids. The second phase was focused on the production of bread in industrial bakery with wholemeal flour enriched with 1.0% of pectin and/or 2.0% of citrus flavonoids. Chemical (pH, total acidity, moisture) and morphometric (volume, height, weight, porosity, crust and crumb color) parameters were determined to study the effect of the different level of enrichment on the final product and during storage. Results showed that the addition of citrus flavonoids, associated with pectin have shown a better bread volume and improved the other quality parameters. Moisture content was comparable between bread samples independently from the levels of pectin and flavonoids. The results obtained indicate that the addition of citrus fruit pectin and flavonoids to durum wheat flour could be considered an innovative way to obtain functional breads.