Production of Microfluidized Wheat Bran Fibers and Evaluation as an Ingredient in Reduced Flour Bakery Product

In this study, the potential use of microfluidization as a milling process for wheat bran was evaluated. More specifically, the influences of regular wheat bran and microfluidized wheat bran on quality (hardness, cutting force, specific volume, and color) and storage characteristics of model bakery product cake were compared. Microfluidization process led to formation of the finely separated fibrous structure with great surface area that allowed higher water holding capacity and methanol soluble-free phenolic content. Rheological measurements showed that the increased surface area of fibers also allowed bran fiber to intertwine and form strong fibrous matrix resulting in higher consistency index, yield stress, and viscoelastic moduli values in batter samples. Various flour formulations have been also tested in the presence of microfluidized wheat bran, and in reduced flour-containing samples, a fibrous network provided gluten-like strength to the batter and cake samples. Microfluidized wheat bran also affected color of cake samples. High water holding ability of microfluidized wheat bran had also impact on moisture loss and staling rate of the cake samples. These results show that microfluidized wheat bran could be an alternative functional ingredient in bakery products.