Gluten- and Egg-Free Pancake Premixes with Sweet Potato Flour: Quality, Sensory Acceptance and Vehicle-Dependent Bioactive Release

The utilisation of sweet potato flour for gluten-free products is promising, but its use in egg-free formulations, as well as the hydration vehicle’s role in releasing bioactive compounds, remains unexplored. Gluten- and egg-free pancake premixes were formulated with 20% orange-fleshed or 60% purple-fleshed sweet potato flour and compared as two optimised formulations, since cultivar and incorporation level co-varied. Premixes were characterised against a wheat reference (egg-free at this stage) and showed higher protein (15.61% and 10.21% vs. 7.05%; db) and lower water activity (0.276–0.481 vs. 0.585). Both sweet potato pancakes showed lower carbohydrate and energy contents than the reference, while protein levels were comparable in the Orange pancake and slightly lower in the Purple pancake. Cooking increased Folin–Ciocalteu-reactive substances and DPPH-scavenging capacity in both pancakes, possibly partly due to Maillard reaction products, and increased extractable carotenoids in the Orange one. Among 61 consumers, approval of the texture of both pancakes did not differ from that of a Commercial Reference, whereas flavour and aroma scored lower. Under in vitro digestion, oat drink yielded a higher apparent carotenoid release index than milk, whereas milk yielded more soluble anthocyanins despite exhibiting a lower index. These results support the feasibility of such premixes, and the hydration vehicle should be considered when assessing the release of bioactive compounds.