Staling of gluten-free cake prepared from heat-moisture treated millet flour

In this study, effect of heat-moisture treatment of proso millet flour on the textural characteristics of gluten-free cake during storage was investigated. Millet flour was treated with two different moisture contents (20% and 30%) at two temperatures (100C and 120C), and then different amounts (0–100%) of treated flours were used in cake formulation. Specific volume, sensory acceptance, microstructure, moisture content and texture parameters of cake crumb on the baking day, and 3rd, 6th and 9th days of storage were studied. The results showed that increasing the intensity of heat-moisture treatment and also increasing the treated flour content increased the moisture content of cake crumb in the baking day. The cakes containing flour treated at 30% of moisture and 100C had high volume with softest texture but cakes prepared from flour treated at 30% of moisture and 120C had a compact and dense texture with the highest hardness values. With increasing storage time, the moisture content of cake crumb decreased and the hardness of that increased, and heat-moisture treatment could not reduce the rate of moisture loss and hardening during storage. Using of heat-moisture treated flour did not improve cohesiveness and springiness of the cake in baking day but a greater reduction of cohesiveness and springiness was observed for control sample during 9-day storage. The findings in this work provide evidence that heatmoisture treatment of millet flour could improve quality of cake.