Tristimulus colorimetry for evaluating quality of high-fiber baked products made in a commercial bakery

Tristimulus colorimetry technique has been used for quantitatively determining the crumb colour quality characteristics of high-fiber pan bread and buns made on a pilot scale in a commercial bakery. A new approach of using white flour with added bran fractions and psyllium husk was followed to produce bread and buns having equal or superior crumb colour than those made from whole wheat flour alone. The white flour (WFcontrol) bread had the lightest crumb colour among all samples and had L^*, a^*, and b^* values of 69.1,-0.3 and 14.3, respectively. Bread made from WF with 20% fine bran had darker colour having L^*, a^*, and b^* values of 63.7, 4.8 and 22.2, respectively, than the whole wheat flour (WWF) control bread. Bread made from WWF and 5% psyllium was darker and had L^*, a^*, and b^* values of 63.7, 3.8 and 20.5, respectively, compared to bread made from WF and 5% psyllium, which had L^*, a^*, and b^* values of 68.4,-0.1 and 12.5, respectively. Generally, the addition of psyllium to WF or WWF did not affect the crumb colour adversely under these baking conditions. The objective colour values for psyllium added bread and buns resembled those of WWF and WF control samples. The research findings presented here lead us to a conclusion that psyllium and bran fractions, when used in combination with WF produced high-fiber pan bread and hamburger buns, which not only had lighter crumb colour, but were more acceptable to the consumers.