Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 10
Sourdough and Gluten-Free Products
Elke K. Arendt and Alice V. Moroni
10.1
Introduction: Gluten-Free Cereal Products
Celiac disease is one of the most common food intolerances, with an incidence of 1 in
every 100 people worldwide, a number that is set to rise [
1
] . A lifelong avoidance of
gluten-containing cereals and related products is the only effective treatment for
people who suffer from celiac disease. Foods that are not allowed in the gluten-free
(GF) diet are all the gluten-containing products prepared from barley, kamut, oat,
wheat and their derivates, in which the gluten content exceeds 20 mg/kg on a total
basis [
2
]. As the request for GF products is significantly rising, food technologists
and manufacturers are called upon to satisfy the increasing requirements of the GF
consumers [
3
]. In particular, people who suffer from celiac disease and those who
are allergic to gluten ask for high-quality GF products, with the same textural, sensorial
and nutritional properties as their gluten-containing counterparts [
4,
5
] . Nonetheless,
the replacement of gluten with other non-toxic ingredients in conventional products,
primarily bread and pasta, constitutes a major technological obstacle for the food
industry. In fact, gluten represents the structure-forming protein in flour and it is
responsible for the unique viscoelastic properties (extensibility, resistance to defor-
mation, mixing tolerance and gas-holding capacity) of the dough [
6
] . The proteins
present in GF flours do not possess these fundamental structural features, and, upon
