Polish researchers have found that adding freeze-dried red potatoes in gluten-free bread improved its nutritional profile – in particular, by adding protein, minerals, and dietary fiber. The study, which appeared in CyTA – Journal of Food, assessed the nutritional value, as well as the physical properties, of gluten-free bread samples that have been supplemented with three variants of freeze-dried red potatoes.

• The researchers utilized three types of red potatoes: Blue Star, Violeta, and Magenta Love.
• To make the starch, potatoes were freeze-dried for 40 hours and then ground before it was used in the preparation of gluten-free bread. The team replaced five percent of the starch used in the experimental bread with freeze-dried potato starch.
• After preparing the loaves, researchers kept these in polyethylene bags then stored them in ambient conditions.
• Researchers proceeded with analyses of physical properties: Bread volume and crumb structure were determined with a Volscan Profiler; crumb color was examined through the instrumental color method in the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) system; and, a texture analyzer was used for texture profile analysis (TPA).
• Results revealed that the Magenta Love and Violeta variants increased bread volume, resulting in softer bread after two days of storage. Magenta Love bread also had the best crumb cohesiveness after and on the day of baking.
• After chemical evaluation, the Magenta Love variety had the largest content of protein, zinc, manganese, copper, and chromium; the Violeta variety had the most iron, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. This resulted in significant boosts to the iron (350 percent on average), manganese (500 percent), dietary fiber (105 percent) and copper (35 percent) contents of the gluten-free bread.
• From a sensory evaluation, the Magenta Love also obtained the highest scores.

The findings suggest that the Magenta Love variety of red potatoes could greatly improve the nutritional content and physical properties of gluten-free bread.

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Journal reference:

Gumul D, Haragonzo L, Korus A, Tokár M, Ziobro R. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF GLUTEN-FREE BREAD WITH SHARE OF FREEZE-DRIED RED POTATOES. CyTA – Journal of Food. 15:4, 629-638, DOI: 10.1080/19476337.2017.1331265