EFFECT OF SHITAKE PASTE AND XANTHAN GUM CONCENTRATION ON TECHNOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF BREAD

Studies indicate that edible mushrooms have high protein value, low lipid content and are considered sources of minerals, dietary fiber, vitamin B1, B2, B3, biotin, and vitamin C. Thus, the objective of the work consisted of the elaboration of sliced bread with the addition of Shitake mushroom paste and xanthan gum. The mushroom paste was prepared by homogenizing the mixture of mushrooms and water in a blender. The bread formulations were based on a standard formulation containing wheat flour, water, sugar, refined salt, vegetable fat, and biological yeast. A factorial design, with repetitions at the central point, varying the mushroom concentration (12.5 to 25%), replacing the standard formulation water, and xanthan gum (0.5 to 1.0%), in partial fat replacement was used to compare the effects of these variables on the properties of bread expansion index and specific volume. It was observed that, within the concentration ranges of the variables studied, there was no significant difference (at the 5% level) in the expansion index, which is a positive result since it is possible to use higher concentrations of two ingredients without significantly altering this property of the bread. On the other hand, the increase in the mushroom concentration had a significant negative effect on the specific volume, that is, the higher concentration resulted in a smaller specific volume of the bread. Despite this negative effect, the values obtained for the specific volume of bread are within the ranges found in the literature for standard bread, that is, there is no loss in the quality of bread made with the addition of mushroom and xanthan gum compared to standard loaves of bread. Thus, it is concluded that the addition of mushrooms and xanthan gum to bread can be a good option to add nutritional value to the product.