D3075: Impact of cricket protein powder addition on wheat dough properties and bread quality

The rising population, environmental concerns, and a shift in consumers’ belief towards eating sustainable foods have led researchers to look for alternative proteins. Insects are an emerging and sustainable protein source as they require fewer resources compared to traditional livestock rearing and have lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to beef, poultry, and pork. However, limited research has been done on their incorporation into food formulations. The objective of this project was to understand how the incorporation of two commercially available cricket protein powders affects dough properties and wheat bread quality. Two cricket protein powders, GrioPro (G) and Entomo Farms (E), were first characterized for their functional properties. 10 or 20% incorporations of E and G into wheat doughs were evaluated for dough development properties, dough extensibility, and change in wheat protein composition. Breads containing 5, 10, or 20% inclusions of E or G underwent color, texture, and staling analysis. In general, incorporation of powders G and E led to two opposite effects. G containing doughs were more stable, had increased water absorption, and contained a higher amount of insoluble polymeric proteins in the dough. On the other hand, incorporation of E led to softer doughs with decreased stability and no difference in water absorption. Dough extensibility and loaf volume decreased at high E and G inclusion levels. Texture results showed a significant increase in bread hardness at higher replacement levels with G being harder than E. Therefore, low incorporations of cricket protein powders into bread were found to be feasible.