Improving the Quality of Wheat Rusk using Chia Seeds (Salvia hispanica L.)

Chia seeds are rich in many vital compounds such as antioxidants, fibre, ash, protein, essential amino acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). These compounds have nutritional, biological and therapeutic value for many metabolic diseases, such as resistance to free radicals, obesity, diabetes, and reducing cardiovascular disorders. This study aimed to replace wheat flour with 0, 2, 4, and 6% of chia seed flour, or 0, 3, 6, and 9% of defatted chia seed flour, to prepare bread crumbs with high nutritional value. The results showed that the content of chia seed flour of protein, ether extract, ash and crude fiber exceeds the content of wheat flour by 54.36, 91.63, 53.13 and 94.49%, respectively. Replacing wheat flour with 6% chia seeds or 9% defatted chia seeds resulted in an increase in most minerals, as well as essential amino acids increased to 22.59 and 68.05%, respectively. Increasing the replacement ratio resulted in a slight change in the rheological and sensory properties such as colour, flavour, texture and general acceptance. Therefore, we recommend replacing wheat flour with 9% defatted chia seeds or 6% chia seeds to prepare rusks or similar crackers to improve their quality and increase their nutritional value.