Quality of pan bread made by replacing sucrose with date syrup produced by using pectinase/cellulase enzymes

The date palm tree, one of the major agricultural food crops in the Arabian Gulf area, is becoming an important commercial crop in this country. Date syrup from tamer fruits of two varieties, Birhi and Safari, was prepared on a laboratory scale for replacement of sucrose in pan bread formulations. The experimental data presented here indicate a strong possibility of producing concentrated date syrup for use in such products. The use of concentrated date syrup in pan bread formulations did not adversely affect the baking loss, but rather gave a significantly higher specific loaf volume (4.32–4.35 cc/g) for 100% replacement level compared with the control (4.09 cc/g). The lower compression force (358.8–368.5 g) at 100% replacement of sucrose with date syrup also indicates a softer texture of test bread samples than the control (479.6 g). The objective color measurement using the CIE L°a°b° system corroborated the results obtained by sensory analysis of test bread samples for crumb color. The panelists gave slightly higher scores for test bread samples for texture, flavor and overall acceptability than the control bread. The results of replacing sucrose with concentrated date syrup produced by pectinase/cellulase enzymes on the baking quality and consumer acceptability of pan bread are presented here.