Novel Gluten-Free Bread with an Extract from Flaxseed By-Product: The Relationship between Water Replacement Level and Nutritional Value, Antioxidant Properties, and Sensory Quality

The food industry generates a great amount of food waste and by-products, which in many cases are not fully valorized. Press cakes, deriving from oilseeds extraction, represent interesting co-products due to their nutritional value, high biopolymers content, and the presence of bioactive phytochemicals. Gluten-free breads (GFBs) are products that have disadvantages such as unsatisfactory texture, low nutritional value, and short shelf life, so natural additives containing proteins and hydrocolloids are in demand to increase GFBs value. In this study, extract from flaxseed by-product (FOCE-Flaxseed Oil Cake Extract) was used to replace water (25-100%) in GFBs formulations and their nutritional value, antioxidant properties, and sensory features were investigated. The results showed that GFBs with FOCE had an elevated nutritional and nutraceutical profile (up to 60% more proteins, significantly increased K, Mg, and P levels). Moreover, the addition of FOCE improved the technological parameters (increased specific volume, number of cells and height/width ratio, reduced density, average size, and perimeter of cells), antioxidant potential, and overall sensory quality of GFBs. This study showed an encouraging way of using a by-product that, due to its high content of proteins, polysaccharides, minerals, and antioxidants, can add value to GFBs.