Structuring wheat flour-based crackers using whey protein isolate

The physicochemical and sensorial properties of whey protein isolate (WPI) wheat-based crackers were evaluated by varying WPI at the levels of 0, 5, 15 and 20% (w/w). Textural properties, water activity, protein, moisture content, dough rheology, sensorial properties, as well as colour, thickness and spread factor were assessed. Addition of WPI from 0 to 15% (w/w) decreased the viscoelasticity of cracker dough significantly due to the high water hydration ability of the WPI. As a consequence, it influenced overall cracker texture and spread ratio. However, increasing the WPI to 20% (w/w) improved dough viscoelasticity behaviour as the G’ and G” increased sharply. WPI-wheat based crackers were softer and addition of 20% (w/w) showed good overall acceptability. Therefore, addition of WPI could be a promising technique to improve the structure and quality of wheat-based crackers.