Lupin flours as additives: Dough mixing, breadmaking, emulsifying, and foaming

The nutritional quality of various food products could be improved by supplementation with grain legumes to increase protein content and to improve the balance of essential amino acids. The lapin grain is a good candidate for this role, given its yield potential in a range of climatic environments and soil types. To establish the practicality of extending the use of lupins as food additives, the functional properties of various species and cultivars of lupin were studied for their effect as additives to baked products and their ability to provide foaming and emulsifying properties. Of the two lupin species that are commonly cultivated commercially, Lupinus albus showed the greater potential as a bread additive; loaf height and structure were maintained when lupin flour was substituted for wheat flour at levels up to 5%. This level of substitution offered the advantage of reducing mixing time. The detrimental effects at higher substitution levels appeared to be associated with the nonprotein components of the lupin flour. L. albus showed better functionality than L. angustifolius in emulsifying attributes, although L. angustifolius showed greater potential as a foaming agent. Defatting the lupin flour may be necessary to show these properties to best advantage. Certain cultivars (within each species) showed preferable performance, indicating the potential for plant breeding to provide germplasm better suited to uses as food additives.