Recent advances in the production of partially substituted wheat and wheatless bread

Bread is a universally accepted food for all irrespective of race, age, gender, religion or geographical location. Bread is produced from wheat, which is a temperate crop; hence, tropical nations depend on imports of wheat to support bread making. The continued consumption of bread has led to the drain of foreign exchange of many developing countries and has exacerbated celiac diseases in susceptible individuals even in developed countries. In many wheat-importing countries, composite flour is being promoted, while developed countries are researching on alternatives to wheat bread. This paper reviews recent advances in the production of partially substituted wheat, gluten-free and wheatless bread. The production of wheatless and gluten-free bread is quite challenging. The study found that substituted wheat flour beyond 20 % and wheatless bread will require the use of bread improvers such as enzymes, sourdough, hydrocolloids, chemicals and emulsifiers. In addition, modified starch, flours from other sources such as tubers, cereals, pseudo-cereals, legumes and oil seeds have been used as alternatives for bread making.