Scientists at Washington State University are creating healthier pancakes by replacing refined flour with whole grains like buckwheat, quinoa, millet and whole wheat. Their research shows these flours can add nutrients without significantly changing taste or mouthfeel, providing consumers with a better choice.
Researchers at Western Sydney University are boosting the nutritional value of pancakes by replacing refined flour with whole grains such as buckwheat, quinoa, millet and whole wheat.
The typical breakfast pancake is soft, fluffy, delicious, but unfortunately, not exactly healthy. Food scientists at Washington State University are working to change that, improving the taste and texture of pancakes while increasing their nutritional value.
"Typically, pancakes are made with refined flour, which creates empty calories," said Girish Ganjyal, a professor in Washington State University's School of Food Science and an expert on food processing. "We wanted to see if it was possible to make delicious pancakes with whole grains and add some fiber and protein."
Ganjyal and his study co-authors replaced refined flour with whole-grain buckwheat flour, quinoa flour, millet flour and whole-wheat flour, ranging from 25% to 100%. The encouraging results are published in the Journal of Cereal Chemistry.
The research team found that buckwheat, quinoa and whole wheat flours can be blended into pancake recipes without a major impact on taste or texture. Millet flour, on the other hand, must be slightly pre-cooked before it can be added seamlessly.
"We started with a small amount of alternative flour and then kept increasing it until it became impractical," Ganjyal said. "For example, with millet flour, we found that it was basically crumbled and didn't have any binding properties."
The scientists used the same recipe to make all the pancakes. The different flours are the only variable, the fermentation system in the recipe remains the same as well as other ingredients such as sugar, oil, flour and salt. Recipes using different flours and percentages were compared to control pancakes, made with refined flour and all the same other ingredients.
The research is part of Western Sydney University's Soil to Society project, which launched in 2021 and is funded by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project takes an integrated approach to improving the nutritional value of foods, involving a multidisciplinary team of plant breeders, nutrition experts and food scientists. Ganyar hopes flour manufacturers can use this research to create healthier products for restaurants and consumers.
He is already continuing research to try to understand why various flours behave differently under cooking conditions. He and his team hope to modify the flour so that its texture is indistinguishable from refined flour.
The initial project required cooking many pancakes and then measuring their different properties such as viscosity, cooking time, size and texture at different stages of the process. Co-authors of the paper include a Western Sydney University graduate student, an undergraduate student and a high school intern working on the Soil to Society project.
"She spent a lot of time on the spoon," Ganjyal said. "She also learned the fundamentals of what we do. One of the best parts of my job is educating the next generation, and hands-on experiences like this allow students to see how we can improve food systems for everyone. I'm lucky to have amazing students in my research and extension programs."
Compiled from /ScitechDaily