Proximate, Physical, and Sensory Properties of Bread From Taro–Wheat Composite Flour

Bread is one of the most common staple foods consumed throughout the world. Wheat is the most important flour source in bread making owing to its gluten content and quality. However, the rising price of wheat is causing a considerable concern in the bread industry, necessitating the evaluation and utilization of flours of underutilized crops such as taro. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of partial substitution of wheat flour by taro corm flours on the physical, proximate, and sensory properties of the resulting bread. A formulation of the composite flour was performed by replacing wheat flour with 7.5%–30% taro (Kihaque variety) flour using mixture design software. Evaluation of bread physical properties showed that loaf weight of breads tends to increase with increasing proportion of taro flour, while loaf volume was the highest at 15% level of substitution and the specific volume was found to be highest for control bread. Among the proximate compositions, the fat, fiber ash, and energy values of composite breads were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by taro flour blending ratios. It could be concluded that bread with acceptable sensory properties and similar to a control bread sample can be obtained at 15% taro flour substitution.