Gluten-Free Breadmaking: Facts, Issues, and Future

Gluten-free foods have attracted increased attention in the food industry due to health issues (i.e., celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders) associated with gluten and the changes in eating habits, such as following gluten-free diet (GFD). Among this food segment, gluten-free (GF) bread plays a crucial role because of the stable consumption of bread in many parts of the world. The increasing demands for GF breads require new approaches to mimic wheat-based bread in terms of the quality, sensory attributes, shelf-life stability, and nutritional value. Therefore, various ingredients have been used for GF bread formulation to mimic gluten-network and to obtain a favorable bread quality along with a good dough characteristic. Alternative ingredients (i.e., flours from pulses and pseudocereals, and proteins sources) have been engineered to improve nutritional profile and health benefits of GF bread as well as sensory and texture attributes of bread. Sourdough biotechnology and novel technologies are potential approaches to address the need for GF bread processing system. This chapter summarizes the issues associated with health, GF ingredients for breadmaking process, and technologies employed for GF breadmaking process.