Arabinoxylans-enriched fractions: From dry fractionation of wheat bran to the investigation on bread baking performance

Arabinoxylans- (AX-) enriched fractions were separated from wheat bran by dry fractionation and utilized for fiber fortification in bread. The obtained AX-enriched fractions (AXF) contained 39.2–55.8% arabinoxylans (dry basis). To produce bread with various AX-fortification levels, wheat flour was partially replaced with AXF in the recipe, i.e., 2%, 5% and 10% of flour weight. Results indicate 10% AX fortification led to decreased specific volume, harder and coarser crumb and darker color of bread, while 2% and 5% showed no significant influence. Next, the bread recipe was adjusted based on Farinograph water absorption and the AXF was pre-soaked in water (with or without xylanase) at 40 ^○ C for 16 h before dough mixing. The recipe and process adjustment reduced the detrimental effects of a high-level AX-fortification on bread quality. Bread with 10% AXF showed comparable quality properties as the control and its fiber content (11.75% dry basis) was found twice higher than the control (5.48% dry basis). However, usage of xylanase did not further improve the bread quality under tested conditions. In conclusion, this study shows that AX-enriched fractions from wheat bran have valorization potential for application in food.