Processing and characterization of durum wheat bread enriched with antioxidant from yellow pepper flour

•Characterization of durum wheat bread added with yellow pepper flour.•Bread with medium hydration level had highest sensorial acceptability.•Tensile properties of the dough were influenced by the hydration level.•Yellow pepper flour enriched bread showed a reduced glucose release.•Yellow pepper flour markedly increased the antioxidant content of bread.

The effect of the addition of yellow pepper flour on bread physico-chemical and sensorial properties was addressed in this study. In particular, vegetable flour concentration was set at 25%; in order to optimize the bread sensorial properties, yellow pepper flour was separately hydrated at three different water content levels. Texture analysis were carried out on both dough and bread samples to evaluate their firmness. Furthermore, tomographic analysis was performed on the same samples in order to provide a more detailed view of their texture. Estimation of the glycemic response, determination of the carotenoids content and sensory analysis of the fortified bread were also determined. Results highlighted that the highest glycemic index was achieved in bread sample having the highest water content and that showed the worst results in terms of texture. Among the studied samples, bread with medium hydration level showed good structural characteristic, double anti-oxidant content compared to the control bread (CTRL S) and the highest sensorial quality.