Improvement of Gluten-Free Sponge Cake with A Combination of Chia Seed Flour and Millet Flour

Background: Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the patient is permanently intolerant to proteins containing gluten, and the only treatment is to use a gluten-free diet. The present study is designed to investigate physicochemical, antioxidant activity, textural, and sensory properties attributes of developed gluten-free sponge cake containing chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) flour (CHF) along with millet (Panicum miliaceum) and corn flour. Methods: The cake was produced using CHF (4, 8, 12, 16%; w/w) with the replacement of millet flour (MF), and 50% corn flour (CF) was used equally in all the samples. Results: Applied CHF significantly increased moisture, ash, protein, and fat content of gluten-free cakes (P<0.05). Replacement of CHF with MF reduced specific volume (using colza grains) and porosity (using image processing method) by 64% and 76%, respectively. Texture analysis showed an increase in hardness in all the three-storage times with the addition of CHF. Color measurement indicated that CHF significantly reduced the amount of a*, and L* values of the crusts. Radical scavenging activity by DPPH was improved in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05). The lowest amount of CHF in cake formula had the highest score in sensory evaluation with verbal hedonic scale. Conclusion: Based on the results, the samples containing 4% CHF, 46% MF, and 50% CF had the most desirable texture and palatability with reasonable radical scavenging activity among developed gluten-free sponge cakes.