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Effect of Yam Flour on Dough and Bread Quality
T. ASIYANBI (1), S. Simsek (1) (1) North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, U.S.A..

Yam (<i>Dioscorea</i> spp) is a high moisture, monocot plant native to Africa and Asia. Yam contains starch, fiber, minerals, protein and lipids, as well as all essential amino acids and vitamin C, which are lacking in wheat. Processing of yam to flour is a necessary preservative measure to reduce economic loss and improve shelf life. This study was done to evaluate the quality of bread made from yam flour blends. Composite flours made from unfermented yam (UFY) flour or fermented yam (FY) flour and bread wheat flour were prepared. The yam flours were added at 5, 10, 15 and 20%. Dough quality of the refined wheat flour and the yam/wheat flour breads was measured using a farinograph. End product quality was evaluated by baking bread according to AACC-I method 10-09.01 and crumb quality was measured with a texture analyzer and C-Cell imaging system. The protein content of the flour blends ranged from 13.8-11.5% (14% MB) and were significantly (p<0.05) lower in yam/wheat flour blends. However, addition of the yam flours increases the mineral, vitamin and fiber content of the breads. The farinograph water absorption increased significantly (p<0.05) for blends prepared with UFY flour. The loaf volume of the breads ranged from 1092 to 925 cc, and the loaf volume of bread prepared with both types of yam flour remained fairly high. The crumb firmness of the bread with UFY flour was similar to the control bread, but bread with FY flour had significantly (p<0.05) higher crumb firmness. The C-Cell image analysis showed that the crumb quality of the breads with yam flours were similar to the control bread. Overall, yam flour appears to be a promising candidate in increasing the nutritional composition of bread, and incorporation of unfermented or fermented yam flour at up to10% appears to give acceptable quality traits in comparison to bread made with 100% wheat flour.