Effect of durum wheat varieties on bread quality

Summary In this study, the effect of different durum wheat varieties on the sensorial and nutritional quality of bread was assessed. In particular, bread manufactured with six wheat cultivars was compared with bread based on commercial semolina mixtures. X-ray microtomography was used to characterise the final cellular structure of the baked bread. The textural properties of baked bread and doughs were also investigated. In addition, the glucose equivalent (GE) of bread was also evaluated. Finally, the microstructural, sensorial and textural parameters were correlated with each other. Results highlighted that Cappelli and Saragolla bread samples showed higher protein and total soluble fibre content, respectively, in comparison with the reference samples. Moreover, the GE of the Cappelli, Claudio and Saragolla bread samples was similar to that of the reference samples and lower than that of the other samples. However, the sensorial properties of all bread samples showed a very positive score (up to 7.7).