Effects of legume flours on batter rheology and cake physical quality

Legumes are good sources of proteins, carbohydrates, dietary fibers and minerals. Therefore, legume flours can be a good choice to obtain functional foods. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of legume flours (lentil, chickpea and pea) on rheological properties of cake batter and quality of legume cakes. Wheat flour was replaced partially (20 and 30%) by lentil, chickpea and pea flour to develop legume cake formulations. As quality parameters, weight loss, specific volume, hardness and color were investigated. Rheological characteristics of batters were modeled by Power law. Chickpea and pea flours with 30% concentration had the highest consistency index. Legume flour containing cakes had lower weight loss than control cakes which was related with legume flour's strong water binding capacity. Correlated with rheological properties, cakes containing 30% pea flour displayed the smallest specific volume and the largest hardness value. The other legume cakes were not significantly different from control cakes in terms of specific volume and hardness.