Nutritional Composition and Sensory Acceptability of Flatbread Prepared from Different Multigrain Flour Blends

Abstract

This study aimed at developing nutritionally enriched multi-grain flatbreads and examining their nutritional and sensory characteristics. Triticale, maize, oat, barley and sorghum were used to make different proportions of flour blends. A commercial multigrain flour was used as a control sample. Standard analytical methods were used to determine proximate composition, sugars, starch and mineral contents. A 9-point hedonic scale was employed to carry out sensory evaluation. There were significant differences (p≤0.05) between the formulations. The overall nutritional quality of the blends was best for blend-2 (30% maize, 50% oat, 20% barley). It contained 11.47% protein, 2.87% fat, and 4.12% fiber. It also had higher calcium (103.52 mg/100g), magnesium (85.23 mg/100g), and iron (2.87 mg/100g). Total sugar content ranged from 32.18 to 38.61 mg/g, while starch ranged from 578.45 to 642.18 mg/g. Blend-3 with sorghum content was found to have high carbohydrate and starch content, and low protein and sensory acceptability values. The overall acceptability (8.12) and taste (8.23) of blend-2 were given the highest score while the texture (8.05) and color (8.13) were also the highest. Overall, multigrain formulations provide better nutritional quality of flatbreads than control. The results show that oat-based multigrain flatbreads have good potential as nutritious functional food.