Tannic acid (TA) has been recently considered as a new dough additive for improving the bread-making quality of wheat. However, the effects of TA supplementation on the sensory quality parameters (color, crumb grain structure, and sensory properties) of bread have not been studied. Further, the potential of TA supplementation in bread-making quality improvement has not been evaluated by using commercial flour. In the present study, three commercial wheat flours (namely, XL, QZG, and QZZ) with different gluten qualities were used to evaluate the effects of TA supplementation (in concentrations of 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively). TA supplementation did not change the proximate composition of the breads but increased the volumes and specific volumes of XL and QZG breads. TA supplementation enhanced antioxidant activities, with 0.3% TA significantly increasing the antioxidant capacities of bread made from all three flour samples by approximately four-fold (FRAP method)/three-fold (ABTS method). Positive effects of TA on the reduction in crumb hardness, gumminess, and chewiness were observed in the XL bread, as determined by the texture profile analysis. For the analyses on visual and sensory attributes, our results suggest that TA did not affect the crust color, but only slightly reduced the L* (lightness) and b* (yellowness) values of the crumb and increased the a* (redness) value. TA supplementation also increased the porosity, total cell area, and mean cell area. Satisfactorily, the sensory evaluation results demonstrate that TA-supplemented breads did not exhibit negative sensory attributes when compared to the non-TA-added breads; rather, the attributes were even increased. In summary, TA-supplemented breads generally had not only better baking quality attributes and enhanced antioxidant activities, but, more importantly, presented high consumer acceptance in multiple commercial flour samples. Our results support the commercial potential of TA to be used as a dough improver.
Keywords: antioxidant activity; bread volume; commercial wheat flour; crust and crumb color; sensory evaluation; tannic acid.