Exploring Compositional and Technological Strategies to Enhance the Quality of Millet-Based Bread: An Overview of Current and Prospective Outlooks

Bread is a globally consumed staple, and incorporating millets into it offers a promising avenue for enhancing nutritional value with added dietary fibers and phytochemicals. However, millet-based breads often exhibit shortcomings such as lower gas retention, specific volume, dense crumb, and a harder texture. To address these issues, a combination of compositional and technological approaches can be employed. Existing literature reveals that the structural and textural challenges in these breads stem largely from gluten dilution. Compositional approaches aid in mimicking the gluten network, improving bread quality, while processing technologies modify flour and biopolymer structures. Rheological characterization shows enhanced dough viscoelasticity through these approaches, providing structural strength during dough expansion. Millet-based breads demonstrate lower glycemic index and improved mineral content, enhancing their commercial viability. However, the distinct baking requirements of millet-based breads have received limited attention. Therefore, for improved baking characteristics, non-conventional baking methods, computational modeling, and microstructural analysis can be employed. This paper explores the feasibility of various compositional and technological approaches, spanning from millet grain to bread, for enhancing the textural and sensory aspects of millet-based breads.