Effect of Basil Seed Gum on Physico-Chemical and Rheological Properties of Bread

Current study was performed to evaluate the effect of basil seed gum on physicochemical, sensorial, and rheological parameters of bread. Purposely, gum was extracted from basil seeds followed by its addition in bread in different proportions (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5%). With basil seed gum addition, a significant impact on physical properties such as weight loss of bread (went down from 20.43 to 9.97g), volume (increased from 797.3 to 996.6 cm3), specific volume (increased from 3.47 to 4.15 cm3 g−1) and width/height ratio of central slice (increased from 0.67 to 0.94) was observed. Scanning electron micrographs depicted pore size decrease with the addition of basil seed gum and minimum pore size was observed for bread containing 2% gum. Sensory evaluation results favored bread with 2% basil seed gum. Conclusively, basil seed gum can effectively be used to improve the nutritional, physicochemical and sensory profile of bread. Practical Implications This article involves the extraction of basil seed gum followed by the evaluation of properties imparted by it (basil seed gum) in the bread. The use of additives in baking industry is a common practice and has numerous beneficial effects on storage stability, rheological characteristics as well as shelf life of bread. Hydrocolloids from the pericarp of basil seeds have excellent hydrophilic and rheological properties. The bread samples containing gum can exhibit smooth surface with less cavities. Moreover, heat stable or weak thermo-irreversible nature of basil seed gum makes it suitable for food products that need processing at higher temperatures. Scanning electron micrographs of bread samples also represent that the addition of basil seed gum can significantly improve the microstructure and porosity of bread.