Jet Milling Effect on Functionality, Quality and In Vitro Digestibility of Whole Wheat Flour and Bread

Abstract

Jet milling is an ultragrinding process in order to produce superfine powders with increased functionalities. The effect of milling pressure, feed rate, vibration rate of feeder, and feedback of jet milling on whole wheat flour functionality and the potential of those flours for breadmaking with the goal of improving bread quality and digestibility were investigated. Increasing milling pressure (from 4 to 8 bar), decreasing feed rate (from 0.67 to 5.18 kg/h), and/or using recirculation augmented the severity of the process and reduced flour particle size from 84.15 to 17.02 μm. Breakage of aleurone particle layer and the reduction of particle size in jet milled flours were detected using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ash and protein content did not change after jet milling. However, total fiber content and digestible starch increased from 13.01 to 14.72 % and from 33.80 to 43.23 mg/100 mg, respectively, when subjected to jet milling at 8-bar air pressure. Mixolab® data indicated that water absorption increased from 64.1 to 68.0 %, while pasting temperature decreased from 63.4 to 66.1 °C owing to the milling intensity. Referring to bread, jet milled flour addition reduced the specific volume from 2.50 to 1.90 cm³/g, luminosity from 60.48 to 55.87, and moisture content from 35.78 to 33.49 %, and increased crumb hardness from 707 to 1808 g. Jet milled breads presented a slight decrease in estimated glycemic index (eGI) (from 86 to 81), suggesting that jet milling treatment could also have nutritional benefits.