Unveiling the Proximate, Sensory, Microbial, And Shelf Life of Leavening Agent Modified Gluten-Free Cookies Formulated With Indigenous Nepalese Hill Grains

The prevalence of gluten-related disorders has risen due to the increased consumption of bakery products made from refined flour in recent decades. This study focused on employing indigenous hill grain flours, such as Taichung 176 rice flour, maize flour, sweet buckwheat flour, and finger millet flour from Nepal, to create gluten-free cookies by incorporating fungal αamylase, baking powder, and baker's yeast as modified leavening agents, in contrast to the typical refined flour-based cookies. 16 different composite flours were made by combining millet, maize, buckwheat, and glutinous rice flours in a 75:25 percentage, then subjected to 30°C proofing for 1 hour for food grade fungal α-amylase with an improver and baker's yeast treated sample before blending with cream and baking for 20 minutes at 200°C.The ash content, moisture content, sensory qualities, microbial load, and shelf life of cookies were studied and compared with control cookies. Over 60-days storage period, most formulated cookies had moisture content below 5%, except BWBY cookies (6%to 8.37%). The ash percentage of cookies significantly increased from 0.81% to 2.59%. The highest ratings for taste (8.0), texture (7.6), and crunchiness (8.1) were achieved for cookies produced with 75:25% Millet: Taichung 176 rice flour, treated with fungal α-amylase, improver, and baker’s yeast.Utilization of proofing techniques in that sample improved their color, taste and resolved the gritty texture issue Formulated gluten-free cookies (GFC) had higher ash and moisture but were still acceptable despite increased microbial load and moisture until the 60th day of storage. Overall acceptability (OAC) score slightly dropped but remained good (7 of 9) after 2 months of storage. Notably, gluten-free cookies exhibited higher   nutritional value and retained their acceptability for up to 60 days when stored at ambient temperature (25 ± 2°C).