NUTRITIONAL EVALUATION OF BREAD MADE FROM POTATO AND WHEAT COMPOSITE FLOUR

Abstract

Incorporating potato flour into wheat flour for baking not only improves the nutritional profile but also introduces beneficial compounds for overall health. It can therefore be used to make bread. The objective of this study was to evaluate the bread quality achieved by utilizing composite flour blends of wheat and both matured and freshly harvested potatoes sourced from a local market. The tubers underwent a comprehensive process of washing, peeling, chipping, oven drying, milling, sieving, and packaging. The research focused on assessing bread quality using different ratios of potato and wheat composite flour (0:100, 100:0, 10:90, and 5:95), conducting analyses encompassing proximate composition, mineral properties, and sensory attributes of the resulting product. To establish their significance level at P < 0.05, the results were compared using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).The study's results indicated significant variations (P < 0.05) among the prepared breads, encompassing moisture (ranging from 32.42% to 36.15%), carbohydrate (91.48% - 105.47%), protein (10.15% - 15.44%), fat (1.06% - 3.93%), fiber (0.99% - 2.75%), and ash (1.18% - 2.40%) content, as well as sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sensory characteristics, highlighting the diverse nutritional and sensory attributes of the different bread formulations. The sensory evaluation revealed notable distinctions among the bread samples in terms of color, taste, texture, appearance, and overall acceptance, underscoring the varying sensory attributes among the formulations. None of the panelists expressed a strong dislike for any of the sample. The study's conclusion suggests that substituting wheat flour with potato flour at a 10% level in bread making is viable, as it maintains a substantial portion of the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of the final product.