Quality Evaluation of Composite Flour and Bread Made from Wheat and Orange-fleshed Sweet Potato Supplemented with Cricket Powder

Aim: This study evaluated the effect of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) flour and edible cricket powder on wheat-based bread's chemical, functional, physical, and sensory quality. Study Design: Three flour blends were formulated and denoted as Samples B to D. Sample A was the control with 100% wheat flour. At the same time, samples B to D had orange-fleshed sweet potato flour added in increasing order of 5 to 25 % and cricket powder at a constant level of 5 %. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Chemistry, Center for Food Technology and Research, Benue State University, Makurdi, between July 2022 and October 2023. Methodology: We made three blend formulations using different constituents of wheat flour, cricket powder, and orange-fleshed sweet potato flour. This was followed by an evaluation of the chemical, functional, physical, and sensory qualities of the blend formulations. Results: The proximate composition of the flour blends and bread samples showed that crude protein, fat, crude fibre, and ash increased significantly (p≤0.05) with values from 8.13 % to 16.84, 2.56 to 3.77 %, 0.64–2.03 %, 4.47 to 6.40 % and 12.62–19.53 %; 6.02–8.62 %; 6.02–7.97%; 5.02–6.03 % respectively. While the moisture content of the flour blends and bread samples was not significantly (p≤0.05) different, the carbohydrate content decreased significantly (p<0.05) with values from 78.76 to 65.89 % and 51.72–64.40% respectively. Higher levels of amino acids were observed in the bread samples made from composite flours. Vitamin A, B6, and B12 values ranged from 0.01-0.05 mg/100 g, 0.16-0.48 mg/100g, and 0.25–0.76 mg/100 g respectively. The result showed a low level of anti-nutrients in the bread samples compared to the flour blends. Results of the sensory properties showed that the 100 % wheat bread recorded the highest scores in all the parameters. Conclusion: The bread produced from composite flour had a favorable comparison with the control bread in terms of physical and sensory attributes.