Abstract
Nigeria's rising cost and import dependence on wheat flour have driven the search for sustainable, locally sourced alternatives in bakery products. This study assessed the proximate, functional, and sensory properties of doughnuts developed from composite flours comprising local rice (Oryza glaberrima), white maize (Zeamays), and wheat flour, formulated in varying ratios. Five blends were analyzed, comprising of 70% ARF: 30% WCF (sample A), 30% ARF: 70% WCF (sample B), 50% ARF: 50% WCF (sample C), 20% WF: 20% ARF: 60% WCF (sample D) and 100% WF (sample E). Standard procedures were adopted in determining the proximate and functional properties of the composite flours. Likewise, the sensory evaluations of the developed doughnuts were carried out by panelists using structured 9-point hedonic scale. The composite blends (Samples B and C) had lower moisture and fat content but higher fibre and carbohydrate content than the control (100%
wheat), enhancing their nutritional profile. They also showed higher water absorption (55.14 g/mL and 60.49 g/mL), and good swelling capacity (4.75 g/mL and 4.78 g/mL for Samples B and D) was observed, making them suitable for dough development. Sample E (control) showed the highest acceptability in terms of taste (7.47), texture (7.40), aroma (7.50), appearance (7.33), and general acceptability (8.00). Doughnuts produced from sample B (30% ARF: 70% WCF) recorded encouraging scores in all the parameters- taste (5.80), texture (5.97), aroma (6.23), appearance (6.17), and general acceptability (6.20) evaluated. The study revealed that composite flour blends
comprising maize and rice flour (samples B and C) compared favorably with the control sample (100% wheat) in moisture, fat, fiber, and carbohydrate compositions. Therefore, demonstrating that maize and African rice flour blends can successfully reduce wheat dominance in doughnut production while maintaining nutritional quality and other desirable quality attributes.