Impact of Sprouted Oat Powder as a Rice Flour Substitute on Physicochemical, Textural, and Sensory Characteristics of Gluten-free Sponge Cake

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article-en

Authors

Alaa Hussein Allawi Allawi ¹

Fakhreddin Salehi ¹

Amir Daraei Garmakhany ²

¹ Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Food Industry, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

² Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Resources, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/ifstrj.2026.98858.1582

Abstract

The present study examined the impact of replacing rice flour with sprouted oat powder (SOP) at various levels (0–100%) on the physicochemical, textural, and sensory attributes of gluten-free rice cake. Rheological analysis revealed pseudoplastic behavior, with apparent viscosity (AV) decreasing as shear rate increased, while higher levels of SOP resulted in increased batter viscosity. The inclusion of SOP led to reduced lightness index (L*) in both batter and cake, with the lowest lightness recorded in the 100% sprouted oat sample. Batter yellowness index (b*) increased significantly with substitution, while redness index (a*) showed no consistent trend. Sprouted oat substitution significantly increased cake weight and reduced baking loss. However, it had no statistically significant effect on cake volume or density. Cakes formulated with higher levels of SOP exhibited increased moisture (from 17.93% to 21.76%) and ash content (from 1.08% to 2.08%), reflecting the nutritional richness of the sprouted flour. The maximum acidity (0.83%) and minimum pH (6.73) were recorded in the sample prepared with 100% SOP. Increasing the concentration of SOP led to a systematic elevation in both the antioxidant potential and the total phenolic levels within the gluten-free cakes. The protein content of the final cakes also increased proportionally (up to 4.49% in the 100% oat sample), while the fat content remained relatively stable across formulations. Increased replacement ratios elevated cake crust hardness (from 0.04 N to 0.55 N), while texture profile analysis (TPA) results indicated no significant changes in crumb firmness or cohesiveness. Sensory evaluation revealed that up to 75% substitution was acceptable without negative impacts on aroma, flavor, texture, or overall acceptance, whereas higher replacement ratios negatively affected crust and crumb color.

Keywords

Batter

Fat

Protein

Total phenolic content

Viscosity

Subjects

• Food Technology

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Authors retain the copyright. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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