Abstract:
Bakery products are popularly widespread worldwide and highly appreciated by consumers because of their soft
texture and characteristic taste. Chia seeds were added to standard bread, muffins and cookies recipes at 5 % and
10 % substitution levels for flour on a weight for weight basis for comparison with standard products. The bakery
products were assessed for their baking loss, specific volume, moisture content, textural properties and crumb po
re structure. The storage properties of bread were evaluated for 2 days, muffins for 7 days and cookies for 20 days,
at 22 -23 °C. Muffins and cookies baking loss and specific volumes were not affected by chia seeds supplementa
tion. Although baking loss for bread was not significantly different for the three formulations, specific volume was
decreased with addition of chia seeds. Incorporation of chia seeds in breads tend to decrease the cell density, but
does not affect muffins cell density. The appearance of baked products is influenced by the internal and external
features which are crucial quality attributes correlating with product flavour and influences the visual perceptions
of consumers and potential purchase of the product. The shelf life and the freshness of the bakery products were
assessed as quality criterion based on moisture content and the crumb hardness. Bread hardness, gumminess and
cohesiveness were not significantly affected by chia supplementation, but were significantly increased during the
48 hours' storage period. Bread cohesiveness and resilience significantly reduced with storage for the three for
mulations. Bread springiness of the chia supplemented formulations remained stable, while the control increased
significantly in storage. Similar to breads, muffin hardness, gumminess and chewiness were not significantly af
fected by chia supplementations at 5 % and 10 %, but gradually increased for all the formulations during the seven
days' storage. Springiness, cohesiveness and resilience were not significantly different two hours after baking of
the three formulations, and during the 7 days storage. Cookies stored for twenty days did not significantly change
in moisture content. Finally, the results showed that the storage stability of bakery products was unaffected by the
addition of raw chia seeds in the formulation. Chia seeds can be used in bakery products to enhance the nutritio
nal value without detrimentally changing the freshness or storage properties.