Increasing the folate content in Egyptian baladi bread using germinated wheat flour

The main objective of this study was to increase the folate content in Egyptian baladi bread using germinated wheat flour (GWF). The effect of germination temperature and drying conditions on the folate content of wheat grains was studied. Wheat flour was substituted with unsieved and sieved GWF at different levels and the effects on folate content and the rheological properties of dough were determined. Germination of wheat grains resulted in a 3- to 4-fold higher folate content depending on the germination temperature. Maximum folate content (61 μg/100 g dry matter (DM)) occurred at 30 °C. Drying did not affect folate content in germinated grains. After replacement with GWF, folate content in both flour and bread increased 1.5- to 4-fold depending on the level of replacement. Rheological properties of dough were adversely affected by increasing replacement level (as determined by farinograph). While the folate content in bread was as high as 66 μg/100 g DM at complete replacement of flour with sieved GWF, the bread was dark and layers were not separated. After replacement of half of the flour with sieved GWF (50 g/100 g), the baladi bread was acceptable with respect to colour and layer separation. The folate content in this bread was 50 μg/100 g DM, compared with 30 μg/100 g DM in bread without GWF (0 g/100 g).