1.0 Introduction
Biscuit may be defined as a thin baked product made from flour, salt, sweetening agent fat and preservatives. They are crisps, unleavened and sometimes sweet pastry produced light by the addition of baking powder or soda. Biscuit may also be defined as a baked Product having not less than 8% of flour content calculated. Okaka, 1997 stated that biscuits are termed cookies” in USA but the word biscuit means a small cake like bun.
According to Terrell ,1981, there are basically some ingredients that are used for biscuit production such as sugar, salt, milk, shortening flavor leaving. Egg improves the volume of biscuit as well as the taste and flavor. Egg and butter are also used for variety; these improve the quality of the products.
Wheat flour is a critical and principal raw material in biscuit production. Its superiority over other cereals is due to the presence of gluten which inherently impacts all the essential qualities to their products. The absence of this simple protein in non-wheat flour makes them unsuitable as substitutes for wheat flour. Unfortunately, wheat is a temperate crop; therefore, our tropical climate does not favor its cultivation.
Flour which has high gluten content are classified as a strong hard flour and therefore produces a strong dough and thus a strong biscuit is produced (Rich tea), while flour with small gluten produces a weak biscuit (Digestive). Aerating chemicals, syrups and water were further added as one of the basic ingredient for biscuit making. The production of biscuits involves weighing, mixing, dough formation, kneading and rolling out, machining and shaping, pricking, Baking, cooling and packaging (Okaka, 1997).
The malting potentials of sorghum grains can be utilized to produce soft dough biscuit. Germinated sorghum grains, develop alpha amylase, carboxyl peptidase, endo-beta-1, 3-glucanase, pentosanase, limit dextrinase and endo-beta-1, 3-glucanase, pentonanse, limit dextrinase and endo-protease in the grain during malting. Malting involves essential steeping, germination, and limiting cereals, seedling growth by kilning.
During germination, enzymes are produced for the degradation of starch and protein in the cereal grain. Malting yields higher proportions of hydrolyte enzymes such as x and B-analyzes which may be either completely soluble or largely insoluble depending on the variety. Malting causes a decrease in the density of caryopsis in sorghum grain, lower the amount of lysine from 0.25% in unmalted sorghum to 0.18% in sorghum malt (Ilori, 1989) and reduces the milling energy.
Time and temperature of storage influence the percentage soluble amylase in sorghum grain. For examples, sorghum grain stored at 12 to 23oc temperature for 2 to 3 years give higher levels of soluble amylase ( between 57-73%) while nearly harvested grain give about 25%. Lowering the temperature to 7oc reduces the level of soluble amylase in the grains to about 37% after 3 years (Novellie et al, 1960).
Banana flour is an excellent alternative to minimize post harvest losses and to retain the nutritive value of fresh bananas. Ripe banana flour contains high amount of iron, calcium, potassium and reducing sugars which helps to better blood circulation and also aids in curbing the craving for nicotine.
Ripe banana flour can be used as a substitute for sugar when sweetening biscuit at the same time adding sweet banana flavor which is its characteristic aroma. With banana flour, one can take virtually everything that was once made using wheat flour only. From cakes, bread biscuits and chapatti, the banana flour is revolutionizing the regions baking industry. www.africareview.com/progress/ banana-Flour.
1.1 Aims and Objectives of the Study
To evaluate and compare biscuits produced from malted sorghum and unmated sorghum each mixed with some percentage of wheat flour and banana flour and also evaluate their acceptability in order to reduce cost of production of using wheat by manufacturers, so as to break even and make gain.
Malted sorghum flour blended with banana flour and wheat and also unmalted sorghum flour blended with banana flour and wheat in the preparation of some confectioneries will go a long way in reducing the country's heavy reliance on imported wheat and conserve the nation's foreign exchange.
1.2 Problem Statement
- There is problem of wastage of Banana fruits when ripped or over ripped and also problem of possible rots on the cereal (sorghum) if not turned into flour as a result of deteriorations.
- When sorghum is malted, what happens to its nutritional and anti nutritional content?
1.3 Significance of the Study
Since biscuit is a snack produced from flour to help solve the problem of hunger and since malting of a sorghum used for biscuit baking helps to improve the nutritional content of the flour since banana flour has a high nutritional content, while wheat flour contains high amount of protein therefore production of biscuit from these flour blends will help the consumers.
1.4 Scope of Study
This present study was designed to cover production of biscuit made from malted, unmalted sorghum, wheat flour and ripe banana flour. It covers the comparative evaluation of biscuits produced from these flours blend.
