Development of a gluten-free bread with added heat-treated yellow pea flour: Application of response surface methodology

Background and Objectives: Processing parameters of yellow pea (Pisum sativum L.) flour-fortified gluten-free (GF) bread was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The final bread product was evaluated for quality, sensory acceptability, and shelf life. A second-order model was fitted to the precooking temperature of whole pea (PTWP), water level, and proof time as the factors used in RSM.Findings: Higher PTWP and lower proof time had significantly (p < .05) lower bread crumb brightness compared to other treatments. Crumb firmness was influenced by the PTWP, water level, and proof time. The optimized parameters for PTWP, water level, and proof time were 156.9 degrees C, 523.8 g, and 18.0 min, respectively. The optimized bread had a brightness (L* value), specific volume, crumb firmness, and mean cell diameter of 68.20, 2.6 mL/g, 174.2 g(f), and 3.81 mm, respectively. The optimized GF bread had longer shelf-life but had significantly (p < .05) lower acceptance scores, than the commercial premix GF bread product.Conclusion: The optimized processing parameters for yellow pea utilization in gluten-free bread were identified by RSM resulting in optimized quality characteristics of the finished baked product.Significance and Novelty: The principles of RSM were an excellent tool to optimize the physical attributes of gluten-free bread formulated with yellow pea flour.