Chestnut flour offers nutritional benefits to gluten-free breads

Chestnut flour could be used in gluten-free breads to give nutritional and health benefits, according to a new study from Turkey.

Formulating products with chestnut flour – reportedly the first study of its kind – may enhance the vitamin B, iron, folate, and dietary fibre content of gluten-free products, claim researchers at the Department of Food Engineering, Middle East Technical University in Turkey.
The study, published in the Journal of Food Engineering, observes that using 30/70 chestnut/rice flour ratio containing xanthan-guar blend and emulsifier, provides the best quality gluten-free dough formulation.
The study’s findings could lead to products with increased nutritional values in the booming gluten-free food market.
Since it was valued at $580m in 2004, the market has grown at an average annual rate of 29 per cent and last year was worth $1.56bn, according to Packaged Facts, which estimates the market in 2012 could be worth as much as $2.6bn.
In order to develop better quality gluten-free breads, a number of alternative flour types to wheat flour, such as corn, rice, bean starch , and buckwheat have been investigated.
The new study is the first to investigate gluten-free bread formulations using a chestnut flour blend, with the objective to develop gluten-free bread formulations using chestnut and rice flours at different ratios.