Determination of quality characteristics of bread made using different ratios of buckwheat, quinoa and amarant flours

In this study, low-gluten breads were produced by partially substituting wheat flour with buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth flours at different levels (0%, 15%, 30%, and 45%), and the effects of these substitutions on the quality characteristics of the resulting products were investigated. The breads were analyzed in terms of their physical, chemical, rheological, microstructural, and sensory properties. Physical analyses revealed that as the proportion of pseudocereal flours increased, a noticeable decrease occurred in specific volume values. The specific volume, which was 1.65 mL/g in the control samples, decreased to 1.18 mL/g in samples containing 45% amaranth flour. This reduction can be explained by the dilution of gluten content as the proportion of pseudocereal flour increased. In color analysis, increasing buckwheat flour led to the lowest brightness and highest redness values. As the level of pseudocereal flour increased, significant enhancements were observed in ash, protein, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, and mineral content (Ca, P, K, Fe, Mg, Zn). The highest total phenolic content was found in the samples containing 45% buckwheat flour. Farinograph and extensograph results demonstrated that increasing the pseudocereal ratio led to reductions in dough development time, stability, and extensibility, while increases were observed in softening degree and the resistance/extensibility ratio. SEM imaging showed that high levels of substitution resulted in a denser crumb structure and reduced internal homogeneity in the bread samples. Sensory evaluation indicated that breads prepared with 15% and 30% substitution levels received similar or higher acceptance scores compared to the control, whereas breads with 45% substitution were rated lower in terms of taste and aroma. Amaranth-containing samples received particularly high scores in terms of appearance and symmetry. The findings suggest that buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth flours are rich in functional components, and that up to 30% pseudocereal substitution can be considered both nutritionally and technologically suitable for the production of low-gluten breads.