Development of functional gluten-free bread by incorporating amaranth and lentils: functional and nutritional aspects

The growing awareness of the importance of a healthy and sustainable diet among consumers, in combination with the increase in gluten intolerance, has prompted the food industry to explore new alternatives in the context of baking. In this work, the integration of legumes and pseudocereals provides a novel solution to make functional products that are also gluten-free. To evaluate the integration of lentil and amaranth flours in new gluten-free bread formulations, six types of bread enriched with different percentages of amaranth and lentils were developed. All products were subjected to sensory analysis and chemical characterization of their nutritional properties (lipidic, phenolic, antiradical, and amino acid compounds). As shown by the panel test, the incorporation of amaranth and lentil flours into these food products did not compromise the general liking of breads, but according to crust and crumb colorimetric analysis, the increasing percentages of these flours led to darker products than the control sample. Using amaranth and lentil flours enriched the nutritional profile of the gluten-free breads: there was not only an increase in protein content and essential amino acids such as lysine and threonine, but also an enhancement of antioxidant activity due to the presence of bioactive compounds. In addition, squalene and γ-sitosterol, which have several properties including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerotic, antitumor, and interesting hypoglycemic and antihyperlipidemic properties, were also detected in all the bread samples. This synergistic approach could represent a significant alternative within the gluten-free bread market.