Pastry foods are popular worldwide due to their taste and convenience. However, traditional pastries made from refined wheat flour have received criticism for their high-calorie content, lack of essential nutrients, and limited availability in some areas. In pursuit of enhancing the nutritional composition of pastry products, nutritional science has turned to composite flours, which consist of a blend of various grain and non-grain flours. This review aims to evaluate the impact of composite flours on pastries' nutritional, bioactive, and sensory characteristics. Specifically, the focus is on how composite flours can increase the nutritional content of pastries while preserving their sensory qualities. The review synthesises findings from published research articles on composite flours, analysing macro and micronutrient profiles, dietary fibre content, antioxidant capacity, glycaemic index, and sensory evaluations of pastries made from these flours. The nutritional value of pastries is significantly enhanced by incorporating composite flours, which blend wheat flour with flours made from legumes, tubers, pseudocereals, and ancient grains. This review showcases improvements in mineral and vitamin content, including B vitamins, iron, zinc, and magnesium, as well as higher levels of unsaturated fatty acids and essential amino acids. The dietary fibre content similarly increases substantially, contributing to improved satiety and digestive health. In addition, pastries made with composite flours exhibit higher antioxidant activity, suggesting potential benefits in combating oxidative stress. These findings indicate composite flours enhance pastries' nutritional and bioactive profiles and maintain acceptable sensory properties. Incorporating alternative flours introduces new flavours and textures, enhancing consumer appeal while promoting a balanced diet. Therefore, composite flours offer a viable strategy for enhancing the nutritional quality of pastry foods. Their utilisation in the pastry industry could support public health initiatives to reduce non-communicable diseases associated with poor dietary choices. By carefully selecting and blending alternative flours, it is possible to produce healthier pastries that appeal to consumers.

In this study, composite biscuits were produced by combining wheat flour (WF) with different proportions of malted pearl millet (MPM) flour (8%, 16%, 24%, and 32%) and orange peel (OP) flour (2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%), using 100% WF as a control. The investigation covered the functional properties, viscosity, and thermal properties of the flours, along with the proximate composition, antioxidant, physical properties, color attributes, and microbial quality of the composite biscuits. As MPM and OP flour (OPF) contents increased, water absorption capacity, dispersibility, and foaming power increased, while the viscosities of both hot and cold pastes decreased. The thermal properties of the composite flours, including onset, peak, and final temperatures (ranging between 74.19°C and 100.76°C), showed an upward trend with increasing proportions of MPM and orange peel flour (OPF). There was an increase in moisture content (3.43%–4.93%), ash (4.50%–5.59%), crude protein (11.70%–13.41%), and crude fiber (11.44%–16.24%) of biscuits with the incorporation of MPM and OPF. Similarly, the diameter (4.12–4.60 mm), thickness (9.00–10.00 mm), and hardness (7.53–8.75 N) of the biscuits were increased. Antioxidant properties were evident, with an increased total phenolic content (1.40–3.56 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoid content (2.91–6.79 mg QUE/100 g), vitamin C (0.79–1.01 mg/g), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (1.78–8.64 mg GAE/g). Conversely, color attributes— L * (31.90), a * (10.82), b * (19.59), hue angle (30.42), and chroma (53.66)—were found to decrease with higher levels of MPM and OPF. Microbial quality showed decreased total counts, coliforms, yeasts, and mold in biscuits containing MPM and OPF. Overall, the inclusion of MPM and OPF enhanced the nutritional quality of the biscuits and could reduce reliance on imported wheat.

Root and tuber crops are becoming an increasingly important part of our diet, beyond their role as staple foods, as they are a significant source of nutrition and for human health. These crops contain abundant prebiotics, such as resistant starches, inulin, and oligosaccharides, which have shown positive effects on the composition and function of gut microbiota. The gut microbiota plays a pivotal role in human health, influencing various physiological processes. The microbial ecosystem of the gut is pivotal in maintaining overall health, and dysbiosis has been implicated in a variety of metabolic and immune-related conditions. Root and tuber-based prebiotics, which include fibres and bioactive compounds, have gained attention for their ability to specifically modulate gut microbiota composition and functionality. As perceptions of gut health expand and emerging links to non-communicable diseases spur demand for functional foods containing root- and tuber-derived prebiotics, a comprehensive synthesis of the literature on their health benefits and processing is still lacking. This review focuses on the mechanisms by which root and tuber-based prebiotics influence microbial diversity and gut health, particularly through their prebiotic effects that enhance beneficial bacteria. This study sets out to bridge this gap by providing an overview of the current multifunctional applications of the prebiotic root and tuber materials as well as the impact on gut microbiota modulation. The review highlights the potential applications of these prebiotics in the development of functional foods aimed at improving gut microbiota balance and supporting digestive health. Additionally, the review discusses recent studies on structural changes of prebiotic constituents during food processing and possible consequences on the generation of functional foods. By narrowing the scope to root and tuber-based prebiotics, this review provides a targeted analysis of their role in gut microbiota management. The review study was based on published peer-reviewed articles, books, and research papers and was obtained from reputable scientific databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The studies included were studies reporting on the prebiotic potential of root and tuber crops and their effects on the gut microbiota, as well as their use in the production of functional foods. Fermentation, enzymatic hydrolysis, and other processing techniques increase the effective absorption of these compounds, making them suitable alternatives for food fortification. These prebiotic compounds enhance beneficial gut microbiota, modulate immune response, and alleviate inflammation.

As global trends continue to embrace environmentally friendly, plant-based diets, food systems that are nutrient-dense, climate-resilient, and economically viable in addressing protein–energy malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and food insecurity have increased. Although cereal–legume combinations are widely recognised to be highly nutritious, most studies have focused primarily on enhancing compositional efficiency and have overlooked their interactions with the food matrix and the processing-mediated transformations they undergo. This review combines recent findings examining cereal–legume food matrices as functional systems, with particular emphasis on nutritional complementarity, bioactive interactions, processing-induced modifications, and sensory acceptability. Studies indicate that cereals and legumes provide complementary amino acid profiles, dietary fibre, essential micronutrients, and phytochemicals within these composite matrices that influence digestibility, bioavailability, antioxidant activity, and glycaemic response. Processing methods, including fermentation, germination, roasting, and extrusion, modulate these interactions by releasing bound phenolics, reducing antinutritional factors, and altering starch–protein–phenolic complexes, thereby affecting health functionality and sensory quality. However, inadequately optimised processing can affect nutrient retention and consumer acceptability. Overall, this review emphasises the relevance of integrating food matrix science and processing optimisation for the production of functional, acceptable, and sustainable cereal–legume foods that promote product innovation, public health improvement, and the utilisation of underutilised crops for sustainable food systems.

Processing techniques play a vital role in modifying the structure and physicochemical properties of carbohydrates in cereals, thereby impacting their nutritional value, functional properties, and overall quality. The significance of this review lies in comprehending the effects of different processing methods on cereal carbohydrates such as starch, dough, and flour to optimise food quality and health benefits. This review evaluates the impacts of various processing techniques on cereal grains' carbohydrate structure and physicochemical properties. This review draws upon research articles and theoretical papers, analysing approaches such as heat-based processing (cooking, baking, extrusion), milling, fermentation, and enzymatic treatments to comprehensively overview their effects on cereal carbohydrates. Heat-based processing methods, including cooking, baking, and extrusion, substantially modify the molecular structure of cereal carbohydrates. Starch gelatinisation during heating disrupts the granular structure, releasing amylose and amylopectin, which affect viscosity, texture, and digestibility. Thermal processing initiates the Maillard reaction, which generates desirable flavour compounds and brown pigments but can also produce undesirable compounds such as acrylamide. Milling reduces particle size, thereby increasing the surface area and modifying hydration and rheological properties. Fermentation utilises microbial enzymes to produce organic acids, gases, and flavour compounds while simultaneously breaking down complex carbohydrates. Enzymatic treatments enhance functional properties, such as solubility, viscosity, and stability, improving cereal-based products' texture, shelf life, and nutritional profile. This review underscores the fact that different processing techniques have distinct effects on cereals' carbohydrate structure and physicochemical properties. These findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge by providing insights into optimising processing methods to produce cereal-based foods with improved quality and health benefits. Consequently, processing techniques significantly influence the carbohydrate structure and physicochemical properties of cereals, which, in turn, affect their nutritional, functional, and sensory attributes. Understanding these effects is essential for optimising processing methods to produce cereals and cereal-based foods with desirable qualities and health benefits.