Gluten-free (GF) baked goods often lack nutritional balance due to the limited protein and fiber content of standard cereal flours like rice and maize. A mixture design methodology was used to evaluate the interaction effects between cereal and legume flours on the physical and textural properties of the biscuits, including hardness, water activity (aw), CIE color parameters (L*, a*, and b*), spread ratio, and baking loss. The results indicated that incorporating legume flour, particularly chickpea flour, significantly increased biscuit hardness (from 22.00 N to 34.66 N) and reduced water activity (from 0.23 to 0.17). All three legume flours reduced the spread ratio, with chickpea flour having the most pronounced effect (from 4.91 to 4.75). Nutritionally, the inclusion of legume flours improved the protein (from 6.46 g/100 g to 11.90 g/100 g), mineral (from 0.58 g/100 g to 1.25 g/100 g), fiber (from 15.73 g/100 g to 21.13 g/100 g), and polyphenol contents (0.34 mg GAE/g compared to 0.18 mg GAE/g for the control). Moreover, DPPH scavenging activity was significantly higher (72.72% vs. 31.49% for the control). Sensory evaluations indicated that the inclusion of legume flours positively affected the biscuits’ overall sensory attributes, especially appearance, but had a minor negative effect on texture. This study aimed at utilizing local legume flours: faba bean, chickpea, and lentil, besides the traditional standard flours: rice and maize, to develop nutritious and flavorful gluten-free biscuits. These results highlighted the use of combinations of local legume with cereal flours to produce GF biscuits with improved physical, sensory, and nutritional qualities.

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of two types of dryers (hot air oven and vacuum dryer) and the yellow berry percentage (1.75%, 36.25%, 43.25%) on the drying process and phytochemical content of bulgur. Results showed that the Midilli model successfully described the moisture diffusion during drying at 60 °C in all bulgur samples, where an increase in yellow berry percentage generated an increase in moisture content. Effective diffusion coefficient (D_eff) increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) from 7.05 × 10⁻¹¹ to 7.82 × 10⁻¹¹ (m².s⁻¹) and from 7.73 × 10⁻¹¹ to 7.82 × 10⁻¹¹ (m².s⁻¹) for the hot air oven and vacuum dryer, respectively. However, it decreased significantly with a decrease of yellow berry percentage. It was concluded that the vacuum dryer provided faster and more effective drying than the hot air oven. Total polyphenol (TPC), total flavonoid (TFC), and yellow pigment contents (YPC) of bulgur were investigated. TPC ranged between 0.54 and 0.64 (mg GAE/g dm); TFC varied from 0.48 to 0.61 (mg QE/g dm). The YPC was found to be between 0.066 and 0.079 (mg ß-carotene/100g dm). Yellow berry percentage positively and significantly affected the TPC, TFC, and YPC contents due to the hard separation of the outer layers from the starchy grain during the debranning step.

Background: Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder launched by gluten ingestion in genetically susceptible persons. This component leads to an inflammation of the small intestine which causes malabsorption of some important nutrients including calcium, iron, folic acid, and liposoluble vitamins. A gluten-free diet, that is strictly followed by affected patients throughout their whole lives, constitutes the unique effective treatment for celiac disease. Aims: Several gluten-free cereals, pseudo-cereals, legumes, starches (rice, corn, sorghum, millets, buckwheat, quinoa, teff, chestnuts, chia, potato starch, peas, etc.), and various gluten substitutes (xanthan and gum guar) were utilized to maintain the physical and sensory properties of gluten-free cereal products. This review examined recent advances in the formulation of gluten-free cereal-based products using innovative gluten-free flours. Conclusions: Consequently, this review presents and summarizes recent findings in the improvement of the technological, nutritional, and sensory properties of gluten-free cereal products. However, the preparation of cereal-based gluten-free products still remains a difficult process. Therefore, the diet must be not only exempt from gluten but also healthy to avoid nutrient, vitamins, and minerals deficiencies. Thus, a great deal of this review focuses on studying novel and healthy gluten-free ingredients which should fulfill all quality requirements for bakery and pastry products as well as satisfy the needs of celiac consumers. Keywords: gluten-free products, alternative flours, celiac disease.