Improvement of Bread-Making Quality by Chitin-Nanofibers Added to Wheat Flour

Bio-nanofibers are produced from biopolymers such as chitin and chitosan, which are widely distributed in nature. In this study, the effect of bio-nanofibers addition on the bread-making quality of wheat flour was evaluated, as their structural features are thought to have potential applications in food processing. As biopolymers such as chitin and chitosan are not readily dissolved in water, they could not contribute to the necessary loaf volume required for bread-making. In contrast, the addition of chitin-nanofiber to wheat flour significantly improved the loaf volume of bread. Wheat flours with added chitosan-nanofibers showed high sedimentation values in the simple test method; however, dough strength was not improved and sufficient loaf volume in the bread-making test was not achieved. The stronger structure of chitin-nanofiber than the others might have made it more appropriate to improve the bread-making quality by addition to wheat flour.