Hemp flour in breadmaking: circularity and opportunities for bread quality and stability during storage

Abstract Industrial hemp is cultivated in all continents, and represents a multipurpose, sustainable and low environmental impact crop. The hemp seed is of particular interest for food application due to its nutritional profile. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of hemp flour (10%, 15% or 25%) on wheat-bread physico-chemical properties (specific volume, texture, color, crumb grain, water status, retrograded amylopectin) of the composite breads during 7 days of storage. The physico-chemical properties of both fresh and stored composite bread were affected by the addition of hemp flour in the formulation, with respect to the standard bread, in a not linearly manner based on the hemp flour content. 10% and 15% hemp flour composite breads resulted with higher specific volume and lower hardness and characterized by a slower increase of hardness during storage, if compared with standard bread. Overall, the hemp flour inclusion level was found pivotal in modulating the quality of composite bread during storage, suggesting that the 15% inclusion level can be a satisfactory compromise among those studied for the reached bread technological quality.