Utilisation of Dry heat-induced hydrothermal treatment improves the baking potentials of Cassava flour

This post provides insights on the effect of dry heat in achieving heat-moisture treatment on the structural, functional and baking properties of cassava flour which was investigated in 2019 by my research group. Our findings was published in International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, a highly reputable Food Science Research Journal in the same year. The rationale for the choice of cassava flour is its low cost, perennial availability, high starch content and unique pasting properties (Kindly L

look out for my post on pasting properties). It was discovered  during preliminary experiments that dry-heat-moisture treatment was unable to limit the retrogradation tendency of cassava flour 

Consequently, the study utilised "Response Surface Methodology", which combines statistics and mathematical modelling to optimise dry-heat-moisture treatment conditions aimed at enhancing the expansion property  and thermal stability of cassava flour when utilised in leavened baked food.  Simply, the "expansion property" means the volume-producing/swelling ability of the flour when used in baking. Retrogradation is related to the hardness/firmness and a contributor to the staling of baked food during ambient temperature storage. That is, the higher the retrogradation the higher the hardness/firmness of the crumb texture of the baked foods and the more susceptibility to staling. 

The major findings from this study are as follows:

• The established novel optimal dry-heat-moisture treatment condition for cassava flour was 25% moisture, 90 °C dry-heat and treatment time of 45 minutes. 
• The treatment decreased the granule size of cassava flour by 56%.  
• The A-type crystal structure of cassava flour was resistant to the treatment but the relative crystallinity increased by 6%.
• The treatment conditions increased the expansion potential of cassava flour i.e. swelling power increased by 40%, peak pasting viscosity increased by 36% and  tan δ decreased by 7% (lower tanδ implies increased elasticity)
• The treatment elongated the melting onset to conclusion temperature range of cassava flour from 14.66 to 15.75 °C, implying enhancement of thermal stability.  

Therefore, the modified cassava flour produced from the novel method can be utilised as a structure enhancer in baked foods that require high swelling characteristics such as leavened baked foods. It is important to mention that this modified flour will be unable to produce leavened baked food on its own and will require blending it with wheat flour at a maximum substitution of 20%. 

This study is relevant to the baking industry, especially in developing countries where cassava is indigenously cultivated.

For more information on this study read the full version of the article below:

Dudu O E, Li L, Oyedeji A B, Oyeyinka S A, Ma Y (2019). Structural and functional characteristics of optimised dry-heat-moisture treated cassava flour and starch. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 133, 1219-1227.

Access this article by requesting it from my Researchgate page (See Affiliates tap below). Also, you can check it out on :

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01418130193320