Kurakkan and rice flour:

It pays to enrich your bread

By Nilma Dole

Bread is believed to be the basic food that supports life. However, with imported wheat flour and other chemicals going into the locally produced bread, is it still healthy for consumption?

Taxing imported bread and wheat flour-based products to encourage the purchase of locally-made bread, has made people worry if the local flour products will be just as nutritious and energy-giving as the white bread.

A study was conducted by the Ruhunu University's Food Science and Technology Department (Faculty of Agriculture) recently on the importance of improving the nutritional quality of traditional bread using locally-made flour.

The objectives of the study were to find out whether rice flour could be substituted for wheat flour, and the best combination of rice flour, kurakkan and wheat flour that can be used in preparing bread.

The Sunday Observer interviewed Buddhika Perumpuli of the Ruhunu University who conducted the study to determine whether rice flour and kurakkan is advantageous over wheat flour, on nutrition, value and price.

Q: Why did you decide to research and find out whether rice flour can be substituted for wheat flour?

A: Nowadays, junk food is popular the world over and the situation is the same in Sri Lanka too. Most of the foods are based on milled wheat flour which is less nutritious.

Due to this the risk of diabetes, obesity and other health defects have increased.

When we compared wheat flour and rice flour, the glycemic index of wheat flour is comparatively higher than rice flour where it raises the blood glucose level quickly. Also, when compared to rice flour, wheat flour is low in dietary fibre.

Due to these reasons, we thought it beneficial to substitute wheat flour with rice flour in bakery products. Since we don't grow wheat, the flour is imported, whereas rice is nationally produced. So, we believe that researching on the ability to substitute wheat flour with rice flour would help the local farmers and obviously the national economy.

We should highlight the importance of gluten which maintains the texture of bread. In comparison to wheat flour, rice flour is low in gluten. Thus, rice flour alone cannot be used in baking bread and other products. If we use rice flour only, we have to add gluten externally which will increase production cost. In that case, we can substitute rice flour only up to a certain level without damaging the texture and structure of the bread. In our laboratory, we have researched on rice flour incorporated in bread, cake and biscuit too.

Q: Why is it important to improve the nutritional value of bread?

A: In Sri Lanka, bread is totally produced with wheat flour and we use wheat flour with a low extraction rate which is around 74 percent.

However, the extraction rate of wheat flour used in other countries is higher. Extraction rate means the proportion of grain in the flour.

During milling process, the outer layers of the grain and the wheatgerm are removed. Beneath the outer coverings, the aleurone layer, rich in vitamin B and proteins is present.

The germ is a rich source of nutrient that contains protein, vitamin B, vitamin E and thiamin. So, what we obtain as wheat flour is just starch and poor in nutritional value. Thus, it is important to improve the nutritional value of bread.

Q: In what way is kurakkan flour a good substitute for wheat flour?

A: Kurakkan flour also can be used as a substitute for wheat flour. But due to the poor gluten content, its unique appearance and taste, it cannot be solely used in the bakery industry. In another research, we tried to develop a nutritionally rich bread by combining wheat, rice and kurakkan flour, which was also successful.

Q: The Friedman test was used for these experiments. Why?

A: The Friedman test is a statistic analysis method which we use for non-parametric data such as preference. During sensory evaluation, we evaluated the preference of the panel members for our developed product. Usually, they give us a rank for every sensory attribute and only then will the data be analysed.

Q: Doctors and nutritionists say kurakkan flour is better than wheat flour due to health benefits but people still do not heed the advice. From your findings why would you say this is correct?

A: Kurakkan flour is good for health as it contains high amounts of fibre, B-complex vitamins including niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, the essential amino acid methionine, lecithin, and some Vitamin E. It is particularly high in minerals such as iron, magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium.

The seeds are also rich in phytochemicals, including phytic acid, believed to lower cholesterol, and phytate, which is associated with reduced cancer. Methionine (essential amino acid) is limited in communities which consume rice, yams and tubers and is rich in kurakkan.

As the fibre content is high, there is a feeling of fullness and satiation after consumption and this prevents snacking and eating in between meals. It is also low in fat, containing about 1.7 grams in every 100g.

Kurakkan flour is categorised into median glycemic index foods which release glucose into the blood stream slowly which is an advantage for diabetics.

The main reason for the low consumption of this food is due to the attitude of people. People refer to this crop as "coarse grain" or "the poor man's crop". The nutritional advantage of it has not been understood.

Also, kurakkan can be prepared in dishes such as roti and thalapa. Today, there are products that use kurakkan such as bread and noodles, but are not popular due to the appearance and taste. It is important to educate consumers on the health benefits of kurakkan.

Q: What have your findings shown?

A: According to our findings, bread can be produced by incorporating rice flour up to 20 percent (i.e. 80 percent wheat flour and 20 percent rice flour). We tried to provide bread using wheat, rice and kurakkan flour. In the research, we used 80 percent wheat flour and 20 percent rice flour as the base level and incorporated kurakkan flour in different ratios.

According to both sensory and nutritional analysis, 80 percent wheat flour and 15 percent rice flour and 5 percent kurakkan flour is the best combination. This bread experiment is rich in protein, fat and fibre as compared to the 100 percent wheat flour bread and the 80 percent wheat flour and 20 percent rice flour combination.

Q: If rice flour can be incorporated into bread-making, do you think Sri Lanka will find it difficult to meet the demand?

A: If we tried to make rice incorporated bread, the demand for rice will increase and import of wheat could be reduced. Farmers will get an opportunity to sell their products at a good price. This will enhance rice production in the country and farmers are encouraged under this situation.

According to our findings, we can incorporate rice flour up to 20 percent without affecting the sensory attributes and achieving this value will not be difficult.

Q: What advice would you give consumers and bakers about replacing wheat flour with rice flour and kurakkan?

A: Due to busy lifestyles, most people are used to eating junk food. Such food products are produced using wheat flour which is less in nutrition. As a result, diseases like type 2 diabetes, colon disease, obesity (and obesity-related diseases) are rampant.

When compared with wheat flour, rice flour and kurakkan is a rich source of fibre and vitamins. Thus, if we tried to replace wheat flour with rice flour, we could avoid the occurrence of such diseases.