Formulation, Characterization, and Shelf Life Study of Gluten-Free Cookies Using Hill Grains of Nepal

Abstract

The consumption of bakery items made from refined flour has increased in the past decade, resulting in a rapid rise of gluten-related disorders. The purpose of this study was to develop, characterize, and study the shelf life of various gluten-free cookies (GFC) using indigenous hill grain flours of Nepal, fungal α-amylase, baking powder, and baker's yeast as leaveners. Various composite flours were prepared by millet, maize, buckwheat, and taichin rice flour in 75:25%, baked at 200°C for 20 minutes, proofed at 30°C until 1 hour for food grade fungal α-amylase with improver and baker’s yeast treated sample before mixing with cream. The moisture content of all formulated cookies was below 5% except BWBY sample during the 60 days of storage period. BWBY cookies showed highest moisture content, ranging from 6 % to 8.37% during 60 days of storage. The ash content of cookies samples were found to be significantly increased from 0.81% to 2.59%. Cookies made with 75:25 % millet-taichin rice flour blend treated with food grade fungal α-amylase with improver and baker’s yeast, received the highest scores for taste (8.0), texture (7.6) and crunchiness (8.1) out of 9 point headonic scale. Gluten-free cookies (GFC) were found to have a higher ash and moisture content compared to traditional cookies. The bacterial and fungal growth was not observed on both PCA and PDA plates at 0 days of storage. The microbial load and moisture content increased over time in most of the cookie samples. However, the microbial counts remained within acceptable levels (below 1×10 vi

4 cfu/gm) and the moisture content below 5% throughout the entire storage. Despite a marginal decrease, the overall acceptability (OAC) score of the all cookies was still well accepted (7 out of 9) by panelists after 60 days of storage. Based on their nutritional, sensory, and microbial qualities, the cookies made with a combination of millet-taichin rice flour (MABK), and maize-taichin flour (MzABK) were found to be good in quality until the end of the storage period (60 days).

Key words: Gluten free cookies, Millet-rice flour cookies, Maize-rice flour cookies, Buckwheat-rice flour Cookies, Whole wheat grain cookies