Effect of Psyllium Husk, Bran, and Raw Wheat Germ Addition on the Rheological Characteristics of Arabic (Pita) Bread Dough

Arabic bread (khubuz) made from white flour is the staple food in the Arabic countries but has now become popular all over the world. A different approach of producing high fiber bread with improved quality can be produced using white flour with added mill fractions, but the addition of mill fractions has been shown to adversely affect the dough characteristics. Therefore, the effect of adding mill fractions on the rheological characteristics of dough was investigated using Brabender Farinograph and Extensograph with the major objective of eliminating their deleterious effects on dough quality, mainly by using psyllium husk, and also reported as an excellent source of soluble dietary fiber. Addition of fine bran, coarse bran, and raw wheat germ decreased the extensibility and resistance to extension and area under curve, lower dough stability, but enhanced water absorption and peak time. Addition of psyllium husk, though reduced the extensibility, but did not affect the area under the curve adversely, thus overcame some of the negative effects on rheological characteristics of the white flour dough. It was concluded that the use of psyllium husk will evidently help the bakers to produce nutritious and acceptable quality Arabic bread.