Studio dell'influenza di ingredienti alternativi utilizzati nel passato per il miglioramento qualitativo dei prodotti gluten-free

In the last years the number of the celiac people is notably increased, resulting in expansion demand of gluten-free products. A strict adherence to a gluten-free diet throughout a patient's lifetime is the only possible remedy at present, as no therapy is available. Nevertheless, gluten-free foods are characterized by poor quality and a high glycemic index. The aim of this work was to develop a gluten-free bread using honey as a partial or total substitute for sucrose to reduce glycemic index and at the same time increase the antioxidant activity, due to the presence of polyphenols in honey. Nine different formulations were produced, varying both the total sugar concentration and the percentage of sugar-honey replacement, accounting for a total sugar concentration of 9% based on flour, in order to evaluate the impact of both factors and their interaction on technological, nutritional and sensory properties. Results showed that the increase of sugar concentration at the minimum level allowed to obtain an improvement of some quality indicators of the bread such as specific volume, colour and mechanical properties compared to the replacement. A 50% substitution of sucrose with honey improved the viscosimetric properties and cells distribution. Sensorial analysis on the consumer showed that honey improved sensory properties of bread. In general, at the 50 % replacement honey improved gluten-free bread properties.