Dough rheology and baking performance of wheat flour–lupin protein isolate blends

The impact of addition of two lupin protein isolates (LPI), enriched either in proteins belonging to globulin (LPI G) or to albumin (LPI A) fraction, on wheat flour dough and bread characteristics was investigated. LPI addition increased the dough development time and stability plus the resistance to deformation and the extensibility of the dough. The presence of LPI proteins in dough affected bread quality in terms of volume, internal structure and texture, while extra gluten addition to the blends to compensate for wheat gluten dilution, resulting from LPI addition, led to an improvement of bread quality characteristics. Generally, the incorporation of LP isolates to wheat flour delayed bread firming. The results obtained are discussed in terms of a possible action of LPI particles as a filler of the gluten network and partly in terms of possible interactions that take place between the gluten protein constituents and those of lupin.