Optimization of Manufacturing Conditions for Okra-Added Vegan Bread using Response Surface Methodology (RSM)

Consumer demand for plant-based breads is rising, yet balancing structure and acceptability in vegan pan bread remains difficult. We applied response surface methodology (central composite design) varying okra purée and water in a white bread base to jointly maximize sensory preference and quality. Quadratic effects were significant (p<0.05): increasing okra improved moisture and texture/appearance up to an interior optimum, while excess okra reduced sweetness preference; water primarily shifted crumb color. Multi-response optimization predicted an optimum at 135.83 g okra and 128.74 g water per 300 g flour (desirability 0.868), with predicted 7-point scores: color 6.26, texture 5.75, appearance 6.58, overall preference 6.02. Validation bakes outperformed a butter control, showing higher moisture (4.25% vs 3.86%), markedly lower fat (2.32% vs 6.30%) and energy (385.38 vs 406.91 kcal/100 g), and enhanced functionality (total polyphenols ×1.21; DPPH scavenging ×2.19). These findings indicate that okra mucilage enables clean-label vegan bread with consumer-acceptable quality and improved anti- oxidant attributes.