Okra-gum fortified bread: formulation and quality.

Freeze-dried okra extract was added to Hard Red Spring (HRS) wheat flour intended for high soluble-fiber bread. Seedless okra pods were blended in 0.05 M NaOH solution and the extract (OE) was freeze-dried at pH 7. SE-HPLC of OE showed the presence of covalently bound peptides. Okra extract powder (OE) 4, 7, 10, and 13 % was used to replace wheat flour in preparing four bread formulations. Although Farinograph water absorption was increased up to 4.4 % due to OE addition, the dough mixing Tolerance (MIT) was also increased. In the presence of OE, bread loaf volume was lower and freezable water was higher. Overall, bread firmness was lower at lower storage temperature, but higher OE increased firmness, due to water migration from crumb to crust. Color was darker for both crust and crumb. The bread melting temperature shifted to lower values at higher OE content as shown by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA). The test indicated that the properties of the blends were similar around the glass transition region. Dynamic rheology of the blends revealed weaker visco-elastic behavior compared to the control. The magnitude of the complex moduli for the 4 % OE was independent of frequency, while the remaining blends were frequency dependent.