Introducing alfalfa seed to bread production – evaluation of technological quality and sensory acceptance

The increasing efforts to use legumes in bread production triggered the search for a novel ingredient that would meet consumers’ needs not only in terms of macronutrients such as proteins, but also dietary fibres, minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals. It is precisely these compounds that are found in alfalfa seeds, which are an underutilised food source with great potential for use in staple foods such as bread. Nevertheless, the disadvantages of using alfalfa seeds are mainly the presence of anti-nutrients and the grassy flavour which can be successfully reduced by using bioprocessing method such as germination.

Therefore, this study investigates the substitution of white wheat flour with 5 and 10% flours of ungerminated and germinated alfalfa seeds subjected to convective drying in the conventional bread formulation and the resulting effects on the specific volume, crumb texture and sensory properties of the bread.

The addition of alfalfa seed flour significantly increased the specific volume of the bread, regardless of the level of addition and the type of flour (2.96±0.02 to 3.16±0.38 cm³/g). At the same time, a significant decrease in crumb hardness was observed compared to the control (from 3.82±0.67 to 2.10±0.42 N), especially with a 10% substitution with alfalfa flour, while minor variations were observed for cohesiveness and springiness.

Sensory acceptability, as assessed by 12 respondents using the 5-point hedonic scale, was highest for bread with 5% ungerminated alfalfa flour (4.3 points) and was characterised by good flavour, soft crumb texture with uniform medium sized air voids, and high specific volume. A 10% substitution with germinated alfalfa flour resulted in the lowest bread acceptability score (3.7 points). The reported results showed improvements in specific volume, softness of the crumb and good sensory acceptability of the breads suggesting that both ungerminated and germinated alfalfa flour are promising baking ingredients.

Keywords: legumes, germination, bread, sensory assessment, technological quality.

Acknowledgements: This work was done under the framework of CEEPUS network HR-0306-15-2223 “For Safe and Healthy Food in Middle-Europe” (during research mobility of Marijana Djordjević).