Development of enriched fibre bites from composite flour

The present investigation was carried out with an objective of developing nutritious quality bites containing enriched fibre and low gluten by replacing refined wheat flour with rice, pearl millet and okara flours. Box-Behnken Design as per the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize levels of different flours obtained from wheat, rice, pearl millet and okara from soybean. RSM optimized levels of maida, okara, rice and pearl millet flours to prepare quality bites were 54.9, 39.1, 3 and 3%, respectively. Ratings for all the sensory attributes of bites were statistically (P ≤ 0.05) higher than those of control bites prepared only from maida. Bites produced from composite flour had about 10 times more fibre and calcium as compared to control bites. There was no significant effect of storage on the sensory quality of bites packed in polyethylene bags during storage for six weeks. The developed product owing to its high fibre and calcium content but low gluten and reasonable shelf life might be preferred much by the consumers and hence may be expected to have great marketing potential.