Quality assessment and consumer acceptability of bread from wheat and fermented banana flour

Bread was produced from wheat flour and fermented unripe banana using the straight dough method. Matured unripe banana was peeled, sliced, steam blanched, dried and milled, and sieved to obtain flour. The flour was mixed with water and made into slurry and allowed to stand for 24 h after which it was divided into several portions and blended with wheat flour in different ratios. Proximate and mineral compositions as well as functional, pasting, and sensory characteristics of the samples were determined. The results of proximate analysis showed that crude fiber ranged between 1.95% and 3.19%, carbohydrate was between 49.70% and 52.98% and protein was 6.92% and 10.25%, respectively, while iron was between 27.07 mg/100 g and 29.30 mg/100 g. Swelling capacity of the experimental samples showed a significant difference from that of control. Peak viscosity ranged between 97.00RVU and 153.63RVU for experimental samples compared with 392.35RVU obtained for the control. Most of the sensory properties for the experimental samples were significantly different from the control. This study showed that bread with better quality and acceptability can be produced from wheat-unripe banana blends.