Effect of hydrothermaled rice bran addition on bread physical, textural and sensory characteristics

Although one of the most suitable methods for natural fortification of bread is using fiber sources such as rice bran, due to its negative effect on the physical, textural, nutritional and sensory properties of bread, the addition of fiber has not yet been widespread. In this study, the effect of adding hydrothermaled rice bran to bread, as the dominant feed of the community, in optimal conditions and for amounts of 3%, 6% and 9% of wheat flour, was investigated. The results showed that by a slight increasing in the percentage of added hydrothermaled rice bran, the specific volume of bread was increased and the density was decreased. The highest crumb moisture content was observed for high amounts of added bran (6% and 9%). The ratio of crust to crumb also showed a direct relationship by increasing the percentage of bran. Textural changes also indicate that the degree of firmness and gumminess of bread has been significantly increased during storage days (first to fifth day) by increasing the amount of hydrothermaled rice bran. However, the cohesiveness of bread had a significant downward trend by increasing the amount of bran and also during the storage period. Also, among the added amounts of bran, the sample containing 3% bran significantly obtained higher scores in terms of sensory characteristics comparing with the control sample and other samples. Summing up, the results of this study showed that small quantities of hydrothermaled rice bran can be used to produce more useful bread with desirable sensory properties.