Development of food concentrate – semi-finished product with amaranth flour for gluten-free cupcakes

Narrow range of Russian products for consumers with celiac disease, high prices and low nutritional value of these products determine the relevance of the development of new flour confectionery products for consumers who stick to a gluten-free diet. The aim of the work was to develop a food concentrate – semi-finished product for gluten-free cupcakes cooking. The main object of the studies was flour obtained from amaranth seeds which had been chosen because of the advantages of its chemical composition compared to the traditional industrial types of gluten-free flour – rice flour and corn flour. Amaranth flour was introduced into the dough in the form of a homogeneous mixture with corn flour or rice flour. It amounted for 5.0% to 25.0% of the total amount of flour. According to the results of studies of organoleptic and physicochemical indicators of the cupcakes quality the authors proposed the optimal combinations of corn flour and amaranth flour; rice flour and amaranth flour. They showed that if the dough base includes corn flour and amaranth flour in the ratio of 10.0–12.5% : 90.0–87.5% or rice flour and amaranth flour in the ratio of 15.0–17.5% : 85.0–82.5% it allows to obtain standard quality cupcakes. Considering these data the authors developed the recipes of semi-finished gluten-free cupcakes with amaranth flour. Calculation of nutritional value of semi-finished gluten-free cupcakes cooked following the developed recipes showed that corn-amaranth and rice-amaranth cupcakes had a better ratio of basic nutrients. They had higher content of easy-to-digest gluten-free proteins (up to 7.9–8.4 g/100 g of semi-finished product) and dietary fibers (up to 1.2–3.4 g/100 g of semi-finished product). They had lower total fat content (4–5 times). Based on the results of the conducted research it is possible to confirm that the use of amaranth flour in the development of semi-finished gluten-free cupcakes can significantly increase the nutritional value of these products and to extend the product range of affordable gluten-free Russian products.