The discovery was made as part of an ongoing effort to develop new, value-added uses for corn, soybeans, wheat and other crops. Chemist Randy Shrogan came up with a way to formulate the soy flour to enrich protein content in bread at the same time as minimising its beany taste, writes ARS this week.
Preparing dough formulations containing five different ratios of defatted soy flour, whole and white-wheat flour, different amounts of ascorbic acid, sugar, salt, milk, water and vegetable shortening were added to the doughs. After baking the bread, researchers at the US' chief scientific laboratory, ARS, analysed taste and texture, finding that the yeast, extra sugar and ascorbic acid significantly reduced the soy's beany aftertaste.
Results showed that the three ingredients used also produced loaves containing 30-40 per cent soy flour with 112-127 grams of protein, compared to 65 grams for all-wheat bread.
According to the scientists, although the soy-based loaves are slightly more dense, the texture is similar to multi-grain breads as well as other speciality breads.
Full findings - that reveal the bread has a high dietary fibre content and heart-healthy compounds such as isoflavones - are published in the October issue of Journal of Food Science and Technology.