Challenges in Developing Modern Functional Bread Products

Abstract In the context of food product development, “functional foods” refers to foods formulated to deliver health benefits beyond their basic nutritional value through the addition of nutrients or bioactive compounds targeted at achieving some specified health benefit. Modern functional bread products contain added ingredients which allow bread to deliver certain functions or benefits not otherwise present in conventional counterparts. The development of modern functional bread products involves the fortification with phytonutrients (green tea catechins, anthocyanins, and quercetin), marine sulphated polysaccharides (fucoidan) and macronutrients (dietary fibre and exogenous protein) during the manufacturing process. Nutrient removal, specifically gluten, also constitutes an important aspect of modern functional bread product development. These functional modifications to bread products exert inhibitory effects on gluten network development, which affects the viscoelastic properties of dough, leading to processing challenges. This case study shows how innovative technologies and methods have been designed to tackle these challenges to develop a viable functional bread product. Information © The Authors 2025