Impact of Functional Ingredients on Technological, Sensory and Health Properties of Bakery Products: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 21 November 2025 | Viewed by 3115

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
Interests: food science and technology; food nutrition; food fortification; cereal-based foods; gluten-free products; food by-product recovery; sensory analysis; food formulation
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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 15, 37134 Verona, Italy
Interests: bakery products; pasta; bioactive compounds; plant by-products; bioaccessibility; in-vitro digestion; glycaemic index; functional ingredient; food technological properties

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Volume I of this Special Issue (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/foods/special_issues/JV4SL35BG4) was a great success and gained the attention and interest of many scholars. We take the opportunity here to thank them for their contributions and support. As the topic continues to gain the attention of scholars and play a pivotal role, we are looking forward to the launch of Volume II. I hope it will be as successful as Volume I and that it will be of benefit to the field.

Presently, the emerging popularity of healthy and sustainable diets and the growing consumer demand for functional food represent new challenges for researchers and producers. Functional ingredients are heterogeneous compounds with potentially health-promoting activities useful to developing healthy foods. Bread and other bakery products, being the most important staple foods consumed worldwide, represent ideal products for the inclusion of functional ingredient. Moreover, agro-industrial by-products, within the scope of the circular economy, might also be a source of bioactive substances.

This Special Issue welcomes original research papers, reviews, and short communications that advance the knowledge and strategies necessary for the development of functional bread and other bakery products to improve consumer nutrition and health.

Particular focus concerns the fortification of conventional and gluten-free bakery products with functional ingredients and the assessment of the inclusion of bioactive substances in the nutritional, sensory, and technological properties of baked goods.

Dr. Roberta Tolve
Dr. Barbara Simonato
Guest Editors

Dr. Federico Bianchi
Guest Editor Assistant

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Keywords

  • bakery products
  • bioactive compounds
  • new product development
  • functional bread
  • food fortification
  • gluten-free products
  • technological properties
  • nutritional properties
  • sensory properties
  • agro-industrial by-products

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 658 KB  
Article
Preparation and Digestive Properties of Biscuits Enriched with Extrusion-Modified Dietary Fiber: Effects on Slow Transit Constipation
by Zhan Wang, Dong Tan, Kemeng Zhao, Wangyang Shen, Jie Zhu, Hongjian Zhang and Xiwu Jia
Foods 2025, 14(19), 3436; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14193436 - 8 Oct 2025
Viewed by 225
Abstract
Dietary fiber (DF) is essential for digestive health, and wheat bran is a potential source because of its high fiber content. Extrusion processing enhances wheat bran’s functional properties by modifying its structure. This study aimed to examine the effects of extrusion-modified wheat bran [...] Read more.
Dietary fiber (DF) is essential for digestive health, and wheat bran is a potential source because of its high fiber content. Extrusion processing enhances wheat bran’s functional properties by modifying its structure. This study aimed to examine the effects of extrusion-modified wheat bran dietary fiber (E-WBDF) on biscuits, focusing on textural, color, and digestive characteristics, and evaluate its ability to alleviate constipation using a mouse model. E-WBDF-enriched biscuits exhibited lower brightness, deeper color, reduced hardness, and a significant decline in digestion rate compared with conventional biscuits. In the mouse model, E-WBDF biscuits increased fecal volume and moisture, shortened defecation time, and accelerated small intestine transit. The results indicate that E-WBDF can enhance the physical properties of biscuits while reducing their digestion rate, thereby exhibiting a potential therapeutic effect in alleviating constipation in the mouse model. This study provides novel insights into using E-WBDF in biscuit formulations, offering a promising strategy for developing functional foods that promote digestive health. Full article
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16 pages, 919 KB  
Article
Pre-Saturation of Bran as a Strategy for Developing Oat Bran-Enriched Bread
by Yun Wu, Tao Wang, Maria Ortiz de Erive and Guibing Chen
Foods 2025, 14(12), 2071; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14122071 - 12 Jun 2025
Viewed by 1380
Abstract
Oat bran offers notable health benefits, but excessive incorporation into bread often compromises quality and consumer acceptance due to its competition for water, particularly with gluten, impairing dough structure. The pre-hydration of fibrous ingredients could alleviate their negative impact on bread quality. This [...] Read more.
Oat bran offers notable health benefits, but excessive incorporation into bread often compromises quality and consumer acceptance due to its competition for water, particularly with gluten, impairing dough structure. The pre-hydration of fibrous ingredients could alleviate their negative impact on bread quality. This study aimed to determine the optimal pre-hydration level of oat bran to achieve maximal quality in bread enriched with pre-hydrated oat bran that replaced 20% white flour in a white bread formula. Oat bran was pre-hydrated to six water activity (aw) levels, ranging from 0.9951 to 0.9989. The results revealed that oat bran hydrated near its saturation point (aw = 0.9979) yielded the composite bread with the most desirable structural and textural properties, including the highest specific loaf volume, minimal crumb hardness, and superior springiness and cohesiveness—attributes comparable to those of the control white bread. Conversely, hydration levels either below or above this saturation threshold led to a decline in bread quality. Optimally saturated oat bran exhibited significantly reduced water absorbency, ensuring sufficient water availability for gluten network development. The findings underscore the critical role of precise hydration in optimizing the functional properties of oat bran for bread-making applications. Full article
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18 pages, 1085 KB  
Article
Characterization of Semolina and Pasta Obtained from Hard Hexaploid Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Developed Through Selection Assisted by Molecular Markers
by María B. Vignola, Mariela C. Bustos, Leonardo Vanzetti, Alfonsina E. Andreatta and Gabriela T. Pérez
Foods 2025, 14(11), 1990; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14111990 - 5 Jun 2025
Viewed by 878
Abstract
This study evaluates the potential of hard hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) lines, developed through marker-assisted selection (MAS), as an alternative to durum wheat for pasta production. Using hard hexaploid lines (SD lines) with targeted traits, such as increased gluten strength, protein [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the potential of hard hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) lines, developed through marker-assisted selection (MAS), as an alternative to durum wheat for pasta production. Using hard hexaploid lines (SD lines) with targeted traits, such as increased gluten strength, protein content, and yellow coloration, the objective was to assess their performance relative to traditional durum wheat. Results indicate that some hard hexaploid lines demonstrate competitive properties compared to durum wheat genotypes, including protein content exceeding 11.5%, gluten index above 90%, and line SD 55 presented acceptable cooking performance with minimal cooking loss. Although some textural properties like hardness and chewiness were slightly lower than durum pasta, the line SD 34 exhibited characteristics most similar to durum wheat pasta. This study supports MAS-developed bread wheat as a feasible and cost-effective alternative for high-quality pasta production, particularly in regions where durum wheat is less accessible. Full article
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