Development and scale-up of gluten-free sorghum-based bakery goods for K-state Dining Services

To create new product opportunities for sorghum in the state of Kansas, the FARMUs project had three primary pillars: Innovate, Scale, and Connect. The project aims to close the gap between industry and consumers by peaking interest in sorghum, its nutritional and sustainable benefits, and consumption of sorghum-based products. The primary focus of this study was to develop and scale-up three gluten-free sorghum-based products for Kansas State Dining Services. The secondary objective was to evaluate the sensory and physical properties of these products to provide developmental and research experience for students. Preliminary testing involved identifying optimum ratios of sorghum flour, xanthan gum, starch, and eggs for proper binding. Whipped egg whites were tested at different levels for product volume and texture. Repetition and reformulation of the products provided various renditions of each product. Quantity equipment needs, staffing feasibility, ingredient availability, and cost were determined. Dining staff evaluated each product and once recipes were finalized, parameters (color, specific gravity, internal temperature, moisture loss, height/width, water activity) were evaluated. Dining center customers provided acceptability feedback for the three gluten-free products using the 9-point Hedonic scale. The first product, a savory waffle, can be stacked with turkey sausage and cheddar cheese for a breakfast sandwich. It utilizes sorghum flour, egg whites, xanthan gum, starch, and flaxseed for structure. This product received a range of 7.03–7.63 (n = 43) for all sensory attributes (acceptability, flavor, mouthfeel, texture, and aftertaste). The lemon blueberry muffin contains sorghum flour, eggs, buttermilk, xanthan gum, potato starch, and egg whites. Sensory data (n = 49) measured at acceptability (7.4), flavor (7.6), mouthfeel (6.4), texture (6.6), and aftertaste (7.6). The third product, a sweet potato muffin top, contains sorghum flour, xanthan gum, eggs, egg whites, and sweet potatoes. All three recipes were formatted via Computrition Menu Management system to provide methodology, nutritional analysis, costing, and labeling for university dining use. These recipes, along with sorghum-based educational materials will be shared with higher learning facilities across Kansas.