Yellow Pea Flour Fermented with Kefir as a Valuable Ingredient for the Techno-Functional and Sensory Improvement of Gluten-Free Bread

This work studies yellow pea flour (YPF) fermentation with kefir (1:1.5 mass ratio, incubated 30 h at 25 °C) for gluten-free breadmaking. Three samples were evaluated: untreated YPF, YPF mixed with kefir (UF), and fermented YPF (FF). Structural changes were minimal, but fermentation improved the flour functionality. Bulk density (g/mL) decreased from 0.54 ± 0.02 in YPF and 0.47 ± 0.01 in UF to 0.43 ± 0.01 in FF, while the water absorption capacity (g/g) increased from 1.20 ± 0.01 in YPF and 1.50 ± 0.05 in UF to 1.92 ± 0.02 in FF. YPF showed the lowest oil absorption capacity (0.90 ± 0.02 g/g), while higher values were obtained for FF and UF (averaging 1.54 g/g). The yellowness index showed a clear tendency: higher in UF (34.9 ± 0.2), intermediate in FF (32.869 ± 0.008), and lower in YPF (22.4 ± 0.1). In gluten-free bread, baking loss did not show significant differences between FF-B and UF-B (averaging 15.65%) but they were significantly lower than that of YPF-B (18.5 ± 0.5%). The highest specific volume (mL/g) was observed in FF-B (1.96 ± 0.02), followed by UF-B (1.33 ± 0.02) and YPF-B (1.08 ± 0.02). Significantly reduced “pea” sensory attributes were perceived in FF-B, while acidity perception increased. Hardness was similar among breads, although chewiness was higher in FF-B. These results suggest that kefir fermentation enhances YPF functionality in gluten-free breadmaking.